So, Myrciaria cauliflora (wait a few secs before googling it!) is our jabuticaba. It's a native fruit of Mata Atlântica, which used to cover all the coastal area of Brazil (about 7.4 sq km or 2,8 sq miles). It's a round, thin-skin black fruit with the sweetest white flesh that brings you right up to nirvana when you bite it. Here's a shot of its tree, taken in Vila Madalena, São Paulo:
Now, granted, it is a Brazilian exclusive, but there are quite a few varieties within the country (check this blog, in Portuguese: http://www.jardineiro.net).
The Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade, once wrote, 'Jabuticaba come-se no pé', which translates like,'The way to eat jabuticaba is right off the tree'. I couldn't agree more! Check the tiny green fruit sticking out midway on the right trunk:
Now, here in the US, we have blackberries too! They are a member of the berry-family (rosaceae), which includes raspberries (framboesa) and gooseberries (groselha). The Brazilian Amora is the closest to the American blackberry. Summer is the time to go out and pick all the berries before the birds do it! Here's a close-up of a blackberry from my garden, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia:
However, my favorite and the most famous of all American berries is the native North American delicious blueberries (Cyanococcus section) which also bring you right up to heaven when you bite them. Here's what they look like in the little tree:
And, like jabuticaba, the way to eat is right off the bush!
Here's the full poem by Drummond de Andrade:
Atrás do grupo escolar ficam as jabuticabeiras.
Estudar, a gente estuda. Mas depois, ei pessoal: furtar jabuticaba.
Jabuticaba chupa-se no pé.
O furto exaure-se no ato de furtar.
Consciência mais leve do que asa
Ao descer, Volto de mãos vazias para casa.