boxleaf myrtle

Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz — CC BY 4.0 · source

Survives zone 8 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

Dark red-purple berries, aromatic and sweet — close to Chilean guava but less intensely strawberry-scented; fresh and preserved. Care: Winter protection — mulch, fleece, or a warm wall.

Hardiness

Zone 8–9

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Autumn

Mature size

Compact evergreen shrub 1–2 m; good in containers

Light

Full sun to partial

Soil pH

5.5–7.0 (acid–neutral; dislikes chalk)

Environment

Temperate rainforest

Native range

Endemic to Chile, from the Maule Region south to Los Lagos, including coastal sites

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

2–3 yrs

Growth speed

Slow

Spacing

100 cm (39 in) apart — about 1 m² (11 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Opposite, small, leathery and gland-dotted, aromatic when crushed — as in Ugni molinae but on a lower, more compact plant.

Root system

Shallow fibrous mat on moist acid humus-rich soils, as in the rest of the genus; intolerant of both drought and stagnant wet.

Fruit description

Small red to purple berry about 1 cm across, aromatic and edible; traditionally used in Chile to make a fermented chicha. Less widely grown and less documented than its relative U. molinae, and rarely offered in the trade outside specialist Chilean collections.

Propagation

Semi-ripe cuttings in summer with bottom heat, as for U. molinae. Fresh seed is viable but slow.

Pollination

Self-fertile

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.