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

                                                                                                                                                

Miracle berry, looking for flower and fruits.

It was last week that I saw fresh miracle berry buds, very white and almost round. Weekend are days when we can look deeper and longer. Yesterday I saw tiny buds transforming into flowers like what Frank wrote in how to make miracle fruit produce

Frank had tried brushing as a way to help pollination. But I resort to giving the branches just a little shake. Otherwise I would look like an artist with brush in my hand and I already made my mark here as keen/ weird photographer hiding behind plants always looking for the best angle to shoot.

Last Week, miracle berry flower buds -

Within a week, the flower buds really changed,

 they became longer with tiny pistil protruding

This Week A cluster of miracle berry flowers - pic 1
tiny pistils are quite visible

Single miracle berry flower - pic 2

Single miracle berry flower - pic 3

a cluster of miracle berry flowers - pic 4

While busying myself checking flowers and angle to shoot, 

I notice ONE ripe miracle fruit berry hidden behind leaves. 

Then I wonder, how could I miss this fruit the past month.

I found a ripe miracle berry, hidden behind leaves. - pic 5

Lets see if a light shake of miracle berry branches help pollination 

which eventually produce more fruits.  

bangchik and kakdah

seri kembangan

Pokok Ajaib, fresh flower and eventual pollination.

The two miracle berry plants had shown familiarization with the new environment at Seri Kembangan, some 340km north from Pasir Gudang, with new and fresh shoots. Now they are showing little white flowers.  I hope a few will end up as fruits......

Fresh flowers come in as almost white and will turn brownish / blackish over a week or two, and in between some would be pollinated and turn into fruits.  Through naked eyes, the flowers seem rounded and don't open up like ordinary flowers. Some gardeners suggest light shaking of branches or brushing  flowers lightly to ensure successful pollinations. So far I leave it to nature to handle, but on the second thought light shaking of branches is too simple to ignore....... haha.   But I am guessing that we should expect the worst with the current prolonged hot spell - 2 weeks without rain. I wonder if miracle berry can do wonders and spring out some magic and bear fruits.......

Our Pokok Ajaib / miracle berry : little white flowers

Brushing technique: ref  how to make miracle fruit produce

- Frank Overstreet

further reading.

1. Synsepalum dulcificum Close up and personal 

________bangchik and kakdah________

seri kembangan

Pokok ajaib

Moving to a new place is very tiring. Pasir Gudang to Seri Kembangan is far 340km  northwards. Boxes need to be opened up and things arranged within the new setting of the house. I wonder if plants hate to go through similar experience. Getting uprooted and  starting all over again....

We keep two  miracle berry / pokok ajaib  in large containers since 2010. They had been left to nature for the past 5 months in Pasir Gudang while we temporarily settled at Presint 11. Now plants are with us. Nature had not been kind lately, no rain for the past week or so. Watering is our daily chore morning and evening. I can see new shoots coming out, but no sign of  fruits yet....

pokok ajaib, new leaves

pokok ajaib

pokok buah ajaib / miracle berry / Synsepalum dulcificum

________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

Miracle Berry / Pokok Ajaib: the first fruit.

Miracle berry or pokok buah ajaib is quite a craze in some part of the country these few years. Nurseries sell these plants like hot cakes. We joined in the craze. Two plants in large pots, three in the ground by the roadside and a few more still in polybags. Kakdah has plans on the extra plants, as giveaways whenever we get back to the hometown.

Pokok buah ajaib is fairly straightforward. Tough stems, and every part of the plant is ready to grow and all the while, the plant maintain its rigidity. Then one day I noticed little flowers hanging down the stems and branches. They do look like bunga tanjung ( Mimusops Elengi) which is also from the same family  Sapotaceae.  Since I had climbed pokok tanjung trees in childhood days for the ripe fruits, I guess Pokok Tanjung must be the closest cousin of miracle berry, judging by the leaves, the flowers and the berries.

Now I am waiting for the first fruit to ripen....

the first miracle berry

(buah ajaib pertama)

bangchik and kakdah

my little vegetable garden

miracle berry: successful germination

I sow 8 seeds with full understanding that miracle berry / pokok ajaib has very poor germination rate.  When two weeks passed, we tend to forget about them and not really looking at them even though we regularly spray them wet.... Then one day, one seed let out long stem out of the potting soil. I loosened the soil to take them out just to see, haha just to entertain the child curiosity in me.... Yes, the long wait ends finally...., after 6 weeks. They are now ready to be the first batch of miracle berry plant in my garden grown from seeds..

 Two seedlings of miracle berry/pokok ajaib.

Picture taken on 23rd of January 2011.

The roots bend as they hit the bottom of the pot.  After germinating seeds over and over again, we slowly understand that some seedlings leave cotyledons behind, sending shoots up, while some push cotyledon up forming the first pair of leaves like sunflower.

 Chiku seeds just rooting.

They were sown at the same time with miracle berry.

the young miracle berry/ pokok ajaib seedling transfered into bigger pot
picture taken today.

the second seedling, struggling but doing fine.

another view of miracle berry seedling.


bangchik and kakdah
Taman Kota Harmoni, Tanah Merah, Kelantan

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