Miracle Berries - it wasn't long, February to April.

It is a way to understand miracle berry better. I have never followed closely the time taken for  red ripe miracle berry to appear after initial buds forming. I search through my old photos and try to assess. I found out, there wasn't  many photos to show in March 2014, since I had been out of town many times.

miracle berry 26th April 2014 - RED - ripening

February

- flower buds appearing

Miracle Berry 9th February 2014
- buds forming

miracle berry 16th february 2014 -
pistil emerging from flower buds

miracle berry 23th februrary 2014
 - flowers opening up

March 2014 - fruits forming

miracle berry 29th march - fruits forming

miracle berry 29th march -  young fruits

April 2014 - fruits ripening

miracle berry 20th April  pic 1

miracle berry 20th April  pic 2

miracle berry 20th April  pic 3

miracle berry 20th April  pic 4

April 26 2014 - turning RED

miracle berry 26th April 2014
- RED - ripening pic1

miracle berry 26th April 2014
 - RED - ripening pic2

miracle berry 26th April 2014
- RED - ripening pic 3

miracle berry 26th April 2014
- RED - ripening pic 4

So it doesn't take too long for berries to ripen after the appearance of buds.  and the next observation will focus on how long will the plant rest, before it collects enough nutrients to sprout little buds.

_____________bangchik and kakdah_____________

my little vegetable garden

SERI KEMBANGAN

                                                                                                                                                

Seven red fruits, magical.

We thought seven is just a number, but when we search around we can find 7eleven as neighbourhood 24 hr  convenience stores, Seven or Se7en 1995 American detective psychological thriller film and of course the huge fairytale Snow White and  Seven Dwarfs.

Yesterday both of us peeked through every branches of our two miracle berry plants.  They are all red in colour, ripening. We counted, there were 7 miracle berry fruits.

Plant A

miracle berry fruit 1

miracle berry fruit 2

Plant B

miracle berry fruit 3

miracle berry fruit 4

miracle berry fruit 5

miracle berry fruit 6

the youngest of the seven fruits, 

bangchik and kakdah

seri kembangan

Miracle berry is ripening

The fruit (miracle berry/ buah ajaib/ Synsepalum dulcificum)  is tucked among leaves, and that makes it difficult to see as we walk pass the plant. I have to squat down to get a better view for pictures. It is definitely ripening now, green turning to light red and now red. It should be anytime now.

The other day Kakdah had a conversation with  Madam Noor as they were touring the garden, looking at plants and orchids.  The fruits were very expensive many years ago, RM10 a fruit, she said. Then the price dropped a little , 3 berries for RM10. Now nobody seem to be buying or selling berries because everyone is eager to have their own plant and pluck their own berries. Stories went around  about medicinal properties for diabetics.

The two seedlings germinated from seeds are still growing. The healthy one, is coming to the third leaf, while the other one stays dormant. It stays as it was a month ago.  I suspect, it will not go the distance...

miracle berry, red and ripe

miracle berry, red and ripe

 the ripening miracle berry, a week earlier

the little flower.

the flower bud of miracle berry

other buds

Kakdah will soon take it. A bite of ripe miracle berry will  retain sweetness in the mouth for hours,
and it is sugar free. So it must be a good thing for diabetics
and those who wish to reduce sugar intake.

bangchik and kakdah

Tanah Merah, Kelantan

MALAYSIA

Being impatient with miracle berry / pokok ajaib

It was on the journey home from Cherating that nurseries along the way became a must-stopover.  Surprisingly there were not many  as compared to the west coast. We bumped into miracle berry seedlings (anak pokok ajaib) at Jertih Nursery. We  bought two at a price of  RM10 per plant.  At 3 feet high, they were not too expensive and looked alright. On the very same trip, at a nursery much closer to home, around Machang area, the young keeper by the name Yie showed us smaller plants at a knockdown price of 5 for RM10. We didn't think twice and immediately purchased 5. Now, we have 7 growing miracle berry plants, while the seeds sowed a week earlier are waiting for the right time to germinate. Huh, why do we need so many? Kakdah has a plan. She is thinking of giving a few away to relatives that come and visit us. First come first serve she says...

the bigger miracle berry  plants

(anak pokok ajaib yang besar)

 miracle berry plants are in large containers

purchased from Anwar's Nursery in Pangkal Meleret, 15 minutes away.

 The five smaller miracle berry plants still in poly bags.

 Miracle berry plants from another view.

 The two miracle berry plants in large containers will be with us. The other five will be giveaways to brothers and sisters. I will give them another two months or so for healthier and bushy look. I do hope berries will appear soon. Pictures were just taken, using flash....

bangchik and kakdah

Tanah Merah.

membeli anak pokok ajaib di nurseri Jertih dan Machang

Miracle berry or pokok ajaib: synsepalum dulcificum

It is called pokok ajaib, or better known as miraculous/miracle berry and botanically tagged as synsepalum dulcificum, It has a long history of use in Africa and Asia to turn sour food into sweet food. I was visiting Risda Nursery not far from the roundabout towards Bangi Toll entrance when I notice this beautiful plants in two large pots. Just a day before, I was reading a post in  My little Potted Garden: Am I called Acerola???   about a certain berry.

miracle berry  /milagro baya  / Чудо ягода / miracol boabe / bagas milagre / 

 berry cud /توت معجزه  / mirakel bær /기적 베리/  ミラクルベリー /miracolo bacca / 

 csoda bogyó / μούρο θαύμα/  Wunderbeere / baie miracle /             

The leaves looked strikingly similar. The worker said, "take a bite at the fruit and then you can eat a bag of sour kedondong". I took a bite or two and the sweetness in my mouth lasted for hours. In case you may wonder what am I doing in Bangi when I am already a permanent resident of Tanah Merah..., the two sons are staying here in Rajawali Apartment Bangi Seksyen 9. Whenever time is available, we will with them over weekends. But the journey is long..., 7 hours on average.

No seedlings available, therefore he suggested we took home the ripe berries and germinate ourselves.  I read somewhere about seeds having 24 percents chance of germination. So with eight seeds, we will be lucky to get two seeds sprouting.

miracle berry or buah pokok ajaib

miracle berry or buah pokok ajaib

miracle berry or buah pokok ajaib

the miracle berries look like this on the tree.

Reference:

• Mencari Kebenaran Hakiki: Keajaiban Khasiat Pokok Ajaib
• Synsepalum Dulcificum: The Miracle Berry
• Synsepalum dulcificum - Wikipedia
• MIRACLE FRUIT Fruit Facts

So these miracle berry plants would probably be the highlight in Kakdah's garden of a house in Sitiawan Perak to be completed soon by middle of next year. She plans to embark on homestay business by August 2011 with the name,

 Homestay Seri Sitiawan

bangchik and kakdah