Myrtaceae
How to identify a camu camu shrub
Myrciaria dubia
A small, sour, cherry-like red-purple fruit with one of the highest vitamin C concentrations of any fruit. Mostly processed into juice, pulp, or powder due to extreme fresh tartness; rare in cultivation outside the Amazon.
Field marks
These features are typical of the genus Myrciaria, so they help confirm you are looking at the right group; the fruit and the details below separate the species.
- A shrub or small tree with opposite, narrow leaves.
- Camu camu grows naturally along flooded riverbanks; the fruit is small, round and red to purple when ripe.
Check a photo
Photograph one whole, mature leaf from above, or a flower or fruit, and the identifier will return ranked matches. If camu camu is the top result, the field marks above are your second opinion.
Leaves, flowers, fruit, or bark — closer and sharper identifies better. Your photo is identified and discarded, never stored.
Where and when you will find it
- Origin / cultivation history
- Western Amazon basin (Peru, Brazil)
- USDA zones
- 10b-11
- Climate
- Tropical humid — a riparian shrub adapted to seasonally flooded riverbanks.
- Fruiting season
- Season not documented; check local sources
- How often grown
- Rare in cultivation
A shrub growing well outside the climate above is more likely to be a look-alike.
Growing it: seedling or grafted?
A young shrub with no fruit is harder to identify and easy to mislabel, so it helps to know how long it takes to reach fruiting age and how it is usually propagated.
- Years to first fruit
- Seedling ~3-5 yrs
- Propagation
- Seed.
Relatives in the Myrtaceae family
Close relatives share many features, so these are the most likely mix-ups.
- JaboticabaPlinia cauliflora
- Suriname cherryEugenia uniflora
- GrumichamaEugenia brasiliensis
- PitangatubaEugenia neonitida
- GuavaPsidium guajava
- Strawberry guavaPsidium cattleyanum
- Wax appleSyzygium samarangense
- Malay appleSyzygium malaccense
Map your camu camu plants
CanopyTwin keeps every tree on a map with its species, cultivar, photos and history, and counts flowers and fruit from survey photos. It is built for orchards, nurseries and collectors of tropical and rare fruit.
More identification guides: free plant identifier · tropical fruit tree identifier · fruit tree identifier · all species guides