Description
Plinia yasuniana — an ultra-rare yellow-fruited Yasuní species
Plinia yasuniana M.L.Kawas. & Á.J.Pérez is a formally described species of the Myrtaceae family, native to the lowland rainforests of the Ecuadorian Amazon. It was scientifically described in 2012 from material associated with Yasuní and is also reported from the Cuyabeno region, at approximately 230–300 m elevation.
Unlike the large jaboticaba trees familiar to many growers, this is a compact understory shrub approximately 1–3 m tall. Its combination of manageable size, spectacular foliage, cauliflorous habit and edible yellow fruit makes it an exceptional species for advanced collectors of rare fruit genetics.
Yellow, sweet and cauliflorous fruit
The mature fruit is described as globose, yellow and approximately 3 cm in diameter. Its mesocarp is sweet and edible, and wild monkeys have been observed eating the ripe fruits. Flowering and fruiting are most frequent from August through November, although some individuals have been observed fertile at other times of year.
- Accepted botanical name: Plinia yasuniana M.L.Kawas. & Á.J.Pérez
- Family: Myrtaceae
- Native range: northeastern Ecuadorian Amazon
- Habit: compact rainforest understory shrub, approximately 1–3 m tall
- Fruit: globose and yellow at maturity, approximately 3 cm in diameter
- Eating quality: sweet, edible mesocarp
- Fruiting habit: cauliflorous, associated with the trunk and older wood
- Leaves: narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, leathery, approximately 28–32 × 5.5–8.5 cm
- Leaf venation: approximately 20–25 pairs of strongly impressed lateral veins
- Leaf base: subcordate to truncate
- Bark: reddish-brown, longitudinally fissured and peeling in small plates
- Cold tolerance: unknown; treat as a warm, humid tropical species
Why this appears to be the first documented commercial seed release
Our international search found historical sales of a different accession called Plinia sp. “Yasuni” or Myrciaria sp. “Yasuni”. That material bears small purple fruit near branch tips, and its original collector explicitly stated that it was not Plinia yasuniana.
We found no prior publicly documented commercial offering of seed under the formally accepted name Plinia yasuniana. Subject to final photographic and provenance verification of the present lot, this therefore appears to be the first documented international commercial release of true P. yasuniana seed. For collectors, this is not merely another unnamed Plinia accession: it is a formally published species with a precise scientific identity and a documented Amazonian origin.
An exceptionally scarce species
The original scientific study recorded only 14 individuals with a diameter of at least 1 cm inside a surveyed 25-hectare plot at Yasuní National Park. This number describes the surveyed plot and must not be interpreted as a complete global population estimate or as a formal conservation category. It does, however, illustrate how uncommon and poorly represented this species is in documented forest surveys and in cultivation.
September Special Pre-Sale — initial release of only 5 seeds
⚠️ EXTREMELY LIMITED 2026 PRE-SALE ITEM
Introductory pre-sale price: USD 129.90 per seed. Regular price: USD 149.90. Quantity 1 = one seed.
Only 5 seeds are being released publicly in the first allocation. This deliberately small release reflects the rarity of the material and allows the remaining lot to be held back for verification, conservation, cultivation and later availability.
This listing is being prepared while the final seed allocation, source photographs and diagnostic identification are verified. It must remain a draft until photographs of the mature fruit, leaves, bark and fruiting habit are consistent with the published description of P. yasuniana.
Once confirmed, fulfillment will depend on successful transfer of the reserved lot, seed condition on arrival, inspection, phytosanitary preparation and international transport. If the final viable quantity is lower than expected, orders will be fulfilled according to payment date and any unavailable quantity will be refunded.
Germination and care
Fresh Plinia seeds should not be intentionally dried. Sow promptly after arrival in a loose, organic and well-draining substrate. Keep the medium evenly moist but not waterlogged, with warm temperatures, high humidity and bright filtered light during germination and early establishment.
No germination percentage or cold-tolerance claim is made for this exceptionally uncommon species. Seed viability and germination speed can vary according to maturity, transport time and growing conditions.
Botanical references
- Kew Plants of the World Online — Plinia yasuniana, accepted species
- Kawasaki & Pérez (2012), A new species of Plinia (Myrtaceae) from Ecuador
- Harvard Papers in Botany 17(1): 19–20 — DOI 10.3100/025.017.0105
- Detailed species summary and morphology
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