Muntingia calabura - Strawberry Tree

Fast growing small tree, bearing cherry-like fruits with a typical taste of well-ripened sweet strawberries. Loved by kids! Our plants can fruit in good-sized pots in less than one year. It is native to the Caribbean and other areas of tropical america but it is now naturalized in many areas of the world.

Muntingia needs to be protected from frost. It can survive long cool winters but it needs a hot summer to bear fruits. It loves hot tropical temperatures.

As Wikipedia says, "Buying the fruit at stores impossible, because people eat the free fruit that grows along the streets. Children climb these trees to pick the fruit and fill tubs for themselves and their family to eat. Fruit from Muntingia is also harvested for export overseas. In nations where the climate is inhospitable to the Muntingia the fruit is considered a luxury and sold at a premium."