Acerola Cherry Fruit Tree Profile

The acerola cherries claim to fame is that its cherry-sized fruits have one of the highest known natural concentrations of vitamin C. With 1,600mg of vitamin C per 100g, it puts citrus fruits like oranges to shame – they only have about 50mg of vitamin C per 100g! While many people spend money on synthetic vitamin C tablets, all we need to do around here for an extra Vitamin C boost is munch on a few acerola cherries!

Acerola Cherries originated from South America, and are sometimes also called Barbados Cherries. They’re fast growing small trees - we planted out our small acerola cherry tree about 2 years ago, and it’s already about 2 metres high and loaded with little green fruits, which turn red when ripe. The fruits are juicy and slightly sweet with a hint of apple flavour and are best eaten fresh. Inside them is a few small seeds which are inedible. They don’t have an amazing flavour, or a lot of flesh, but we enjoy eating them because we know how good they are for you! There’s also a stunning tree to have in the garden, with their small green evergreen leaves, and pretty pink flowers.  Acerola cherry trees have a straggly habit and can grow up to 5 metres in height, but can be kept smaller by pruning.

Thriving in frost-free tropical and subtropical areas, the acerola does well in the Illawarra. For more details about growing acerolas successfully, check out our Acerola Cherry fruit tree profile.