PHYLLANTHUS ACIDUS

Description

Sprays of orange flowers mature to bunches of white to slightly yellow coloured fruit, with a crunchy, juicy, acidic flavoured pulp, which are borne in great abundance. The Otaheite Gooseberry is tropical or subtropical, and can take several degrees of frost for brief periods of time, two fruiting cycles occurring per year, and depending on the climate, trees can produce occasionally throughout the year. Often the fruit is cooked with sugar, upon which the pulp and juice turns bright red, common uses for the resulting fruit mixture are for beverages and sauces. It is native to Madagascar, but was spread long ago by humans throughout much of India, south east Asia, some Pacific islands, the Caribbean region and Central and South America.

Sowing Advice

These seeds have already been thoroughly cleaned and should be sown into a well-drained, sandy compost at any time of the year, and covered thinly with sand or grit and kept moist. Keep at between 20-25 degrees C. Seeds sometimes germinate within 4 to 6 weeks although some may take very much longer so please be patient. Plant out in the open ground in warmer countries or in a large container elsewhere.

Key Facts