The camu camu (Myrciaria dubia), also known as CamuCamu, Rumberry, Cacari, Camocamo, Guavaberry, is a small ( approx. 3 meters tall) bushy river side tree from the Amazon rain forest region of Peru, which bears a red/purple cherry like fruit. Its small flowers have waxy white petals and sweet smelling aroma. It has bushy feathery foliage. The evergreen, opposite leaves are lanceolate to elliptic. Individual leaves are 3 - 20 cm in length and 1 - 2 cm wide.

It is a close relative of the Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora).

Description

Long used by native peoples, wild camu-camu is harvested directly into canoes. The fruit has only recently come into large-scale cultivation and sale to the world market with Japan being the major buyer. It is relatively easy to cultivate. It survives best in hot, damp tropical climates but will grow in the subtropics, surviving temperatures down to just above freezing. It requires copious water and withstands flooding. Trees begin to bear fruit after about 4 to 6 years.

Its fruit contains about 2800 mg of Vitamin C per 100 g of fruit, or about 60x the concentration of an orange. It is believed to have the highest Vitamin C content of any fruit in the world.

Uses

The nutritious pulp has a citrus taste and is traditionally prepared into a refreshing drink . It is more recently also used in, ice creams, sweets, etc.

Processed powder from the fruit pulp is beginning to be sold in the west as a health food in loose powder or capsule form. In addition to the high vitamin C content it contains the amino acids, valine, leucine and serine, and is also rich in bioflavonoids.

Conservation issues

Currently, the over-harvesting of wild camu-camu threatens to make it an endangered species. Efforts are underway to encourage the commercial growing of camu_camu in the Amazon River Basin. see http://www.rainforestconservation.org/articles/camu_camu.html