BARBADOS CHERRY

also called West Indian Cherry, or Acerola, common name for various tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs of the genera Bunchiosa and Malpighia (family Malpighiaceae), especially M. glabra, M. punicifolia, and M. urens. The Malpighia species bear edible fruits, rich in vitamin C, that are used in preserves and commercial vitamin production. They are native to the West Indies and southern Texas southward to northern South America. M. glabra, the species perhaps most often called Barbados cherry, grows about 3.6 metres (12 feet) tall. The flowers, which appear throughout the summer, are pink or rosy, 2 centimetres (nearly one inch) in diameter, and grow from the leaf axils in clusters of three to five. The tart, red fruit is the size of a cherry.