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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Taxobox<br />
| color = lightgreen<br />
| name = Acerola<br />
| image = Malpighia glabra.jpg<br />
| image_width = 240px<br />
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae<br />
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]<br />
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]<br />
| ordo = [[Malpighiales]]<br />
| familia = [[Malpighiaceae]]<br />
| genus = ''[[Malpighia]]''<br />
| species = '''''M. glabra'''''<br />
| binomial = ''Malpighia glabra''<br />
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]<br />
}}<br />
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'''Acerola''' (''Malpighia glabra''), also known as '''Barbados cherry''' or '''wild crapemyrtle''', is a tropical [[fruit]]-bearing [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] in the family [[Malpighiaceae]], native to the [[West Indies]] and northern [[South America]] and also cultivated in [[India]]. It grows to 3 m tall, with a dense, [[Spine (biology)|thorny]] crown. The [[leaf|leaves]] are [[evergreen]], simple ovate-lanceolate, 5-10 cm long, with an entire margin. The [[flower]]s are produced in umbels of 2-5 together, each flower 1-1.5 cm diameter, with five pink or red petals.<br />
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The [[fruit]] is bright red, 1.5-2 cm diameter, containing 2-3 hard [[seed]]s. It is juicy, often as much sour as sweet in flavor, and very high in [[vitamin C]] and other [[nutrient]]s. <br />
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===Cultivation and uses===<br />
The fruit is edible and widely consumed in the species' native area, and is cultivated elsewhere for its high vitamin C content.<br />
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In the [[1950s]], a manufacturer of baby food decided that [[apple juice]] was milder for infants than [[orange juice]]. The company claimed that a drop of acerola juice in an 8 oz. can of apple juice provided the amount of [[vitamin C]] of an equal amount of orange juice. {{Fact|date=April 2007}}<br />
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In [[Puerto Rico]], the acerola is so prized that custom officials exercise considerable precaution to prevent exporting of acerola cuttings.<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_MG041 University of Florida: Acerola]<br />
*[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-acerola.html Columbia Encyclopedia entry on Acerola]<br />
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[[Category:Malpighiaceae]]<br />
[[Category:fruit]]</div>MediaWiki default