The tree occurs mainly in the Brazilian states of Goiás, Tocantins, Mato Grosso do Sul, Bahia, Minas Gerais and São Paulo, mostly in areas with mean temperature and altitudes of. The adult tree is from tall, with a rounded canopy. The trunk can be diameter, with a thick and irregular corky bark. The flowers are white, wide. They occur either alone or in threes, and open between August and September, undergoing both self- and cross-pollination. The fruits ripen mostly over a two-month period, between September and December depending on the climate. They fall from the tree when fully ripe, roughly at the start of the rainy season. The fruit is a yellow-orange berry, roughly spherical in shape, with a dry remnant of the calyx opposite to the stem; it is about one inch in diameter and usually weighs. It has a thin waxy skin and a sweet-sour and slightly astringent pulp, 1–2 mm thick, loosely enclosing one to three round and light gray seeds.
Uses
The fruits is edible raw, but when consumed in quantity it has a laxative effect — which justifies the species namedysenterica. It keeps for three days at room temperature, or 10 days if refrigerated. It is locally used for sweets, jams, beverages, and sherbets, either at home or by small-scale industries. It contains substantial quantities of polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin C. Unripe berries can be used for cattle feed. The wood is dense, hard, and finely grained, but of inferior quality; it is used for fence posts, firewood, charcoal, and occasionally for rustic furniture and other light construction. The bark is used for tanningleather and for cork products; it is also used in folk medicine against dysentery. The leaves are used for cattle feed, and in folk medicine as hearttonic and as treatment for dysentery, diabetes, and jaundice. The oil extracted from the leaves has been claimed to have antifungal properties. Its numerous bright berries and dark green foliage earned it some use as a decorative plant.
Cultivation
The plant can be easily reproduced from seeds. Planted deep, they germinate in 40 to 60 days. It can also be reproduced in vitro from gems. The plant is adapted to the poor soils of the Cerrado but benefits from fertilizers containing calcium and phosphorus as well as organic fertilizers. Agricultural pests include the brown spot disease, caused by a fungus, leaf-cutting ants, and fruit flies such as Anastrepha obliqua.
