Malpighia glabra aka Barbados Cherry

Malpighia glabra, also known as Barbados Cherry or acerola cherry, is a tropical fruit-bearing shrub or small tree in the family Malpighiaceae. It is often confused with the cultivated crop tree M. emarginata, but has small insipid fruit and a very different flower structure. This evergreen tree can grow up to 6 meters high and has elliptical leaves that are 2-7 cm long and 1-4 cm wide. The fruit is round or slightly flattened, 1.25-2.5 cm in diameter, with a thin glossy bright red skin and contains a juicy sour pulp with three hard seeds. The fruit is highly valued for its very high content of vitamin C. Barbados Cherry is a super rare houseplant that needs regular watering to thrive and does best in long-lasting, direct light, less than 1 foot from a window. Though the plant is taxonomically rather far from the common cherry, it is closely related to two other species of Malpighia, known as malpighia glabrous and pomegranate malpighia.