The panama berry tree (Muntingia calabura) goes by many names such as strawberry tree, jam fruit tree, and cotton candy berry. The Panama berry is a tropical fruit tree with a strawberry looking flower and sweet edible fruits that taste like cotton candy. It can grow as a shrub or small tree to 35′ and produces small fruits nearly year-round that are tasty snacks for humans or wildlife such as birds.
Panama berry is an evergreen tree native to tropical America but has been grown in south and central Florida as a tropical fruit tree in edible landscapes. It can be propagated by seed, cutting or air layering. This plant has been reported to naturalize in areas but has not yet been assessed by UF/IFAS Assessment of Nonnative Plants. It is listed as “Not a Noxious Weed” in Florida Natural Areas Inventory. It is suitable for tropical and subtropical regions, zones 9b – 11 and has been documented as far north as Orlando as a cultivated plant in iNaturalist.
The harvest season of Panama berry is spring to summer, where it produces abundant amounts of juicy cotton candy flavored fruits on a daily basis. You can eat the skin of the fruit, or pop them in your mouth and squeeze out the tasty inner fruit and spit out the skin. The seeds are very tiny and edible. This tree can be propagated from seed, cutting, or air layer. The branches are weak and prone to breakage so frequent pruning of long branches is recommended.
Learn more:
Follow Us!
We have several ways to connect. Join our UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County
Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Eventbrite, Blogs, and Website
If you have any questions, please contact the UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County at 813-744-5519 or email hillsmg@mail.ufl.edu.
The University of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Institution.
8
