Plant

Acerola

Malpighia emarginata

Also known as: Malpighia emarginata, Barbados cherry, West Indian cherry, acerola cherry

A small evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Caribbean, southern Mexico, Central America, and tropical South America, producing small red cherry-like fruits with one of the highest vitamin C concentrations of any known food — 1,500–4,500 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of fresh fruit, 50 to 100 times the concentration of orange juice. Cultivated commercially in northeastern Brazil (the largest producer) and elsewhere primarily for vitamin-C extract and juice concentrate used in food, beverage, and supplement formulations. Eaten fresh in the Caribbean, where the fruit is called *cereza* in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Scientific

Malpighia emarginata (often confused with M. glabra, which is the same or very similar plant under a different historical name) is in family Malpighiaceae. A bushy shrub or small tree 3–6 m tall with glossy small leaves, pink to lavender five-petaled flowers, and small red drupes (technically a fleshy fruit with three small stones, not a single pit) that resemble cherries — 1–2 cm across, sweet-tart, with thin delicate skin.

The defining property of the fruit is its exceptional vitamin C (ascorbic acid) content, ranging from ~1,500 to over 4,500 mg per 100 g depending on cultivar, ripeness, and growing conditions — by comparison, orange juice contains about 50 mg per 100 g, and the daily human requirement is ~75–90 mg. The fruit also contains carotenoids, anthocyanins, and substantial bioavailable iron and calcium for a fruit. Vitamin C content drops sharply with ripening — the most concentrated extracts use semi-ripe (yellow-to-orange) fruit harvested before full red maturity.

Cultural and commercial use

Across Caribbean cuisines the fresh fruit is eaten out of hand, made into juice and ices, and used in jams and syrups — Puerto Rican cereza, Dominican cereza, and Brazilian acerola are familiar street and household fruits in their native range. Outside the native range, acerola is encountered mostly as an industrial ingredient: fresh juice frozen and exported, dried fruit powder, and high-vitamin-C extract used as a natural vitamin-C source in food and beverage formulations and in cosmetics. The “vitamin C from acerola” label on supplements and skincare reflects this large industrial market.

Global production

Brazil is by far the largest producer; northeastern Brazil — particularly Pernambuco, Ceará, and Paraíba — dominates commercial cultivation, much of it for juice and extract export. Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Mexico are significant smaller producers; commercial cultivation has also expanded into Hawaii, Florida, and parts of Southeast Asia. Most of the global crop goes to vitamin-C extract rather than fresh-fruit consumption.

Sources

Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical — acerola research (Brazil)
USDA Germplasm Resources — Malpighia emarginata
Wikipedia — Acerola

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Practical

produces

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Scientific

Cultural and commercial use

Global production

See also

Sources

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