Peanut Butter (Seedling) Fruit Plant

Peanut Butter fruit (Bunchosia Argentea or Bunchosia Armeniaca) is a tropical fruit tree, a member of the Malpighiaceae family. The plant is native to northwestern South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru). It is also known as the Bunchosia fruit tree. The plant is ornamental for its vibrant yellow blooms and red fruit which it produces simultaneously. Some of the popular common names of the plants are Bunchosia, Green Plum, Monk’s Plum, Peanut Butter Fruit, and Peanut Butter Tree.

It is an edible fruit however it has never experienced commercial success due to the delicate and perishable nature of the fruit. Some people have linked the fruit to a cooked sweet potato. Whilst it is also called the peanut butter fruit because of its texture, but not its taste. Taste is similar to peanut butter. Peanut butter fruit is a small, highly ornamental and hardy tropical, evergreen perennial tree or shrub.

The plant grows about 2–4 m (6–13 ft.) tall. The plant is found growing in dry and moist limestone forests near the coast, dry rocky open lowland. Normally prefers moist, fertile loamy soil rich in organic matter. Remember try to stay away from wet, mucky soils. Peanut Butter is a very low maintenance plant. Harvesting is staggered, and depending on environmental conditions and management there may be more than one crop per year, as for acerola. It is best to pick the fruit while they are still orange and firm; they will soften and redden within a day or two. Birds are particularly fond of the soft, red fruits when left on the tree.

Peanut Butter Benefits

• The fruit is an excellent source of carotenoids, specifically lycopene offering nearly ten times that found in tomatoes.
• Peanut Butter fruit is an incredible source of Lycopene, a carotenoid that has high concentrations in prostate tissue.
• Considering prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among Brazilian men there is great hope in the medical community there that this unique fruit may be able to help reduce the risk of prostate cancer in Brazilian men.
• Reduce the problems of heart as it reduces the cholesterol levels which is the main reason behind which heart ailments.
• Used for jellies, jams, muffins, or preserves and to flavor drinks and milk shakes.