NOTES ON ECONOMIC PLANTS A rare and potentially economic fruit of Brazil: cambuci, Campomanesiaphaea (Myrtaceae).--The "cambuci", Campomanesia phaea (O. Berg) Landrum (= Abbevillea phaea Berg, Paivaea langsdorfii Berg), is one of several Brazilian species of Myrtaceae with edible fruits that has been locally appreciated at least since European colonization (1). The objective of this note is to draw attention to the present state of conservation of this species and to the potential commercial value of its edible fruits. The name "cambuci" is thought to be derived from the Tupi-Guarani word for clay pot (sometimes spelled cambuchi) (2), because the rhomboid fruits (Fig. 1) resemble clay pots previously made by the Indians (3). The cambuci grows in Brazil's Atlantic Coastal Forest, one of the world's vegetation types in greatest danger of species extinction (4). It is native to the region around the city of S~o Paulo (3, 5, 6), which appropriately includes a neighborhood called Cambuci. We believe that it is probably native also near the town Cambuci, in the north-central Rio de Janeiro state, but know of no collections from that area. Nowadays, however, the few trees that can be found in these two areas are cultivated in gardens and parks. Wild trees, almost extinct in the region of S~o Panlo, are reported only in rural areas or patches of moist forests (7). We can not say with certainty that any of these are clearly natural habitats. The relatively few herbarium collections of cambuci come from localities where human influence is obvious. Cambuci is a good example of a species, apparently once common (judging from the geographic localities named after it) and even encouraged because of its edible fruits, that is now near extinction. Undoubtedly many other species that were less common, or that did not have any obvious use, are in an even more precarious state. Of the approximately 25 species of Campomanesia, three are known from single collections and about six others (not including cambuci) are rarely collected or have not been collected in many years (5). Thus about two fifths of the species are possibly extinct or could be near extinction. A botanical description and illustrations (Figs. 1, 2) of Campomanesia phaea are provided below. A more complete description is available in Flora Neotropica monograph 45 (5). Small tree up to ca. 10 m high. Leaves elliptic to elliptic-oblanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, 4 10 cm long, 2-3.3 cm wide, 2-3.3 times as long as wide, glabrous to sparsely puberulent, or sometimes densely pubescent along the veins, submembranous to subcoriaceous. Peduncles uniflorous (or rarely triflorous), 5-18 mm long, 1-1.5 nun wide, densely pubescent; calyx-lobes triangular, 2 - 4 mm long, densely pubescent within and without, the hypanthium splitting between the lobes at anthesis; petals suborbicular, 10-13 m m long, densely pubescent without, glabrous within; hypanthium 5-8 mm long from the base of the calyx-lobes to the bracteoles, densely pubescent, prolonged in a tube 1-2 mm long beyond the summit of the ovary, having a warty horizontal ridge at about the level of the ovary; stamens 300, ca. 10 mm long; anthers 1-1.5 mm long; style 7-8 nun long, glabrous; ovary 1113-1ocular; ovules 8-12 per locule. Fruit green, ovoid-rhomboidal, up to 4 - 6 cm in diam. by 3.5-4.5 cm long. Seeds 1-4, ca. 8 mm long in- Fig. 1. Young fruits of cambuci (Campomanesia phaea) as they appear naturally on a leafy twig. Economic Botany 51(4) pp. 403-407. 1997 9 1997 by The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458 U.S.A. 404 ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL. 51 Fig. 2. Cambuci (Campomanesiaphaea). A, twig with flower and opening buds. B, closed flower bud. C, longitudinal section of ovary showing two locules. D, cross-section of ovary showing 12 locules and 2 visible ovules in each. E, mature fruit. E seed with glandular locular-wall that serves as a false seed coat. G, spiral embryo with large hypocotyl and small cotyledons. cluding the locular wall, the wall one gland thick. Phenology: flowering from September to January; fruiting from February to April. Campomanesia has its greatest concentration of species in northeastern and southeastern Brazil but with a few as far away as Colombia and Venezuela (5). In Brazil they are generally known as "guabiroba" and in Paraguay as "guavira." Thus, there existed a Tupi-Guarani or Guarani "folk genus" (8) that included several species of Campomanesia known for their delicious fruits, e.g., C. adamantium (Cambess.) O. Berg and C. pubescens (DC.) O. Berg, shrubs commonly found in "cerrado" or grassland vegetation in central and southeastern Brazil, usually known as "guabiroba-do-campo," and C. xanthocarpa, known merely as "guabiroba" or "guabiroba-do-mato." Their fruits are sweet, re- sembling the taste of "jabuticaba" [Myrciaria cauliflora (Mart.) O. Berg, a commercially exploited myrtaceous fruit in southeastern Brazil] or ripe persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.). Campomanesia phaea is apparently sufficiently different in fruit shape and flavor that it has been given a separate "folk generic" name. It would be interesting to know if some local inhabitants without botanical training perceive a relationship between guabiroba and cambuci, but our limited inquiries indicate that no relationship is seen even among most trained botanists. Berg (9), the prolific 19th century student of Myrtaceae, described cambuci twice, once in the monotypic genus Paivaea. The fruits of cambuci are unique in the genus, characteristically ovoid-rhomboidal with a horizontal ridge. They have a strong sweet scent but are extremely sour like lemons. These fruits are 1997] NOTES much appreciated by the local people and are processed at home into jams, jellies, ice-creams, and liqueurs. Nevertheless, they are not found in markets. The fruits and the bark have traditional medicinal uses (3, 10, 11) but the particular uses have not been specified by some authors. Porto (3) states that the people use the fruits against fevers and generally as a substitute for lemon in popular medicine. He also reproduces part of a colonial document by B. Rodrigo de Souza Coutinho from 1802 that reports the use of the bark for "molestias graves" (i.e., serious ailments). The mature fruits are green, fleshy and soft, often splitting when they fall to the ground. There are usually 1 - 4 seeds in each fruit and only a few of these germinate. Seed germination (ca. 30 days or more) and seedling development are very slow (12). The cambuci is an attractive tree and the fruits can be utilized as stated above. It is thus a fine choice as a dooryard or garden tree for tropical to subtropical climates with abundant rainfall. For instance, S~o Paulo has an average annual temperature and rainfall of ca. 18~ and 1400 mm, with 4 - 5 relatively dry months in winter. It may be attractive to some because of its history and rarity, and to others as a potential source of pulp for juices and jams in which case plantations could be recommended. Growers and processors of guava (Psidium guajava L.) pulp may want to consider this proposal to diversify their markets. Little is known about tree age and productivity, but good horticultural practices may be able to reduce maturation to less than ten years. 405 Literature Cited. (1) Holanda, S. B. 1994. Caminhos e fronteiras. Third edition. Companhia das Letras, S~o Paulo; (2) Tibiriqa, L. C. 1989. Dicionario Guarani Portugues, Traqo, Liberdade, S~o Paulo; (3) Porto, P. C. 1920. O cambuci [pamphlet of the Jardim Bot~nico do Rio de Janeiro]. Steele, Mattos, & Co., Rio de Janeiro; (4) Moil, S., B. M. Boom, and G. T. Prance. 1981. Distribution patterns and conservation of eastern Brazilian coastal forest tree species. Brittonia 33(2):233-245; (5) Landrum, L. R. 1986. Campomanesia. FI. Neotrop. monogr. 45: 7-72; (6) Hoehne, E C. 1979. Frutas Indigenas. Second edition. Secretaria da Agricultura, Indtistria e Com6rcio, e Instituto de Bot~nica, S~o Paulo; (7) Secretaria do Meio Ambiente/Secretaria Municipal de Planejamento. 1988. Vegetaq~o significativa no municfpio de S~o Paulo. S6rie Documentos, S~o Paulo; (8) Berlin, B. 1995. Ethnobiological Classification. Princeton University Press, Princeton; (9) Berg, O. 1857-1859. Myrtaceae. In C. E P. von Martius, Flora brasiliensis 14(1):1-655; (10) Corr~a, M. P 1926. Dicion~io das plantas titeis do Brasil e das ex6ticas cultivadas, vol. 1. Imprensa Nacional, Rio de Janeiro; (11) Hoehne, E C. 1939. Plantas e subst~ncias t6xicas e medicinais. Secretaria da Agricultura, Indtistria e Com6rcio, e Instituto de Bot~nica, Sho Paulo; (12) Lorenzi, H. 1992. Arvores brasileiras: manual de identificaq~o e cultivo de plantas arb6reas nativas do Brasil. Editora Plantarum, Nova Odessa, Sho Paulo. --Marfa Lticia Kawasaki, Herbdrio, Instituto de Bot~nica de S~o Paulo, Caixa Postal 4005, 01061-970, S6o Paulo, SP, Brazil. --Leslie R. Landrum, Department of Botany, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1601, U.S.A.