Description: The Peanut Butter fruit (Bunchosia Glandulifera, which is also known as Monk's fruit, is a species of self pollinating, flowering plant related to the acerola family (the cherry family) native to Venezuela and Columbia and has long been cultivated in Brazil. It is often grown by rare fruit enthusiasts in Australia as well as in the USA, particularly Florida, Hawaii, and California. Peanut butter fruit can be grown in all 50 states provided it is containerized and brought indoors before temperatures drop below 40 F. Ample light must still be provided for the tree to continue to thrive indoors. The olive sized fruits are small, ovoid shaped, orange to red in color, and have a sticky, creamy, dense pulp surrounding one to two seeds. Both the skin and the pulp is edible. The scent and the flavor of the fruit has the distinct taste of peanut butter with a hint of dried figs. The fruit may be harvested just before achieving ripeness while it is still firm to prevent squirrels and birds such as Finches and Cardinals (they are attracted to the fruit) from enjoying your crops. The fruit is extremely perishable and must be refrigerated/frozen if not eaten once harvested. Due to the perishable nature of the fruit, it has never made it to commercial availability making this a very special tree for those who love collecting rare fruit trees. There are 2 different species of Peanut butter fruit that can be readily identified. The Bunchosia Glandulifera species, has a wavy pattern along the margins of the leaves while the leaf of Bunchosia Argentea has a more flattened shape. The Peanut butter tree is generally small in size, growing to a max of about 10 to 15 feet but can also be shaped to grow like a bush. The best aspect of this fruit tree is the fact that it can be grown from seed and begin fruiting in as little as 2 to 3 years. Seedlings are true to the parent plant so there is no need to clone in order to have an identical tree that has the same characteristics as the parent tree. Your Peanut butter tree can be grown in the ground or in a container (18 to 30 inches in diameter and at least 14 inches deep will generally suffice) where it will still produce fruit which makes this fruit tree ideal for northern climates. The tree can be brought indoors and kept by a sunny window prior to the first cold snap. Extremely hot sun may cause leaf burns when the plant is young so acclimate your plant in the shade initially then slowly transfer to a more sunny location. Peanut Butter fruit will grow best in a well draining but moist soil that is rich in organic matter. Fertilize sparingly on a biannual basis with a good quality, slow time released 15-5-10 fertilizer that is free of excess salts which is common in cheap fertilizers. Under ideal conditions, the Peanut butter tree is fast growing with very impressive foliage. Perfect as a patio plant or can be grown in a row as an edible hedge. Flowering is typically seen between March and October depending on your location. The fruit becomes bright red when at the peak of ripeness. Due to the multiple flowering cycles, multiple crops can be obtained throughout the flowering season. Besides producing delicious fruit that tastes just like peanut butter, this is also a very ornamental tree with beautiful clusters of flashy bright yellow flowers that are followed by an abundance of dark orange to red fruit. Similarly seen in cherries, which is a relative, ripe fruit along with the ornamental flowers can appear on the same branch which adds an even greater ornamental quality to the tree. Pulp from the fruit can be made into milk shakes, jellies, jams, cakes, cookies as well as preserves but mostly the fruit is typically eaten fresh out of hand. Nutritionally, this is an excellent fruit for eating. It was studied in Brazil where it was found to be high in carotenoids such as Lycopene which is found in high concentrations in the prostate. Other beneficial anti-oxidants are also present making this an excellent fruit for the human body. "LET YOUR FOOD BE YOUR MEDICINE AND YOUR MEDICINE BE YOUR FOOD!!" I make every effort to ship plants as soon as payment is received. I do not provide hot packs so be mindful of cold temperatures in your area. This evergreen perennial tolerates mild cooler temperatures no lower than 40 F. If you are in colder zones you may want to wait at the mailbox if you order if you don't want your plant to freeze!! I ship all of my plants via USPS 2 to 3 day delivery but unfortunately, sometimes the postal service does not deliver on time and packages do sometimes get lost. Unfortunately, this is something that is out of my control. If your plant arrives damaged beyond saving, please message me with pictures of both your package and plant immediately so that I may correct the problem as soon as possible. There is no need to leave negative feedback as I always try to answer questions or concerns on a very timely basis, sometimes within minutes of being messaged. Your satisfaction is my greatest concern and I will do everything possible to make things right.
Price: 33 USD
Location: Cape Coral, Florida
End Time: 2024-09-06T00:07:04.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Climate: HOT DRY CLIMATES WILL REQUIRE FREQUENT WATERING, CAN BE CONTAINER GROWN IN NORTHERN CLIMATES, HAS BEEN GROWN IN CONNECTICUT, ARIZONA AND FLORIDA, TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL CLIMATES PREFERRED, Humid Subtropical
Common Name: PEANUT BUTTER TREE
Indoor/Outdoor: BRING INDOORS IN WINTER TO WARM PATIO IF POTTED
Growth Habit: TALL IF NOT PRUNED, BUSH/HEDGE IF PRUNED
Soil Type: WELL DRAINING SOIL, COMBINATION OF SOIL, SAND, PERLITE IS IDEAL, A FERTILE RICH LOAM IS EXCELLENT, VERY FAST GROWING IN RICH SOIL, Loam
Brand: Tree
Plant Form: PLANT PLUG/CLONE
Soil pH: MILDLY ACIDIC TO MILDLY ALKALINE
Season of Interest: MID-SPRING TO LATE FALL
Type: Trees
Growth Stage: MATURE SEEDLING READY TO PLANT
Watering: AVERAGE WATERING/WATER REGULARLY/DON'T OVERWATER
Genus: BUNCHOSIA
Item Height: 6 INCHES OR TALLER
Growth Rate: FAST GROWTH HABIT UNDER IDEAL CONDITIONS
Sunlight: Full Sun, Medium Sun
Foliage: EVERGREEN
Features: Edible, Evergreen
