Red Jumbo

'Red Jumbo' is a named acerola clone in the Hawaiian group, conserved as accession HMAL 7 in the USDA-ARS Malpighia field collection at Hilo, Hawaii. Unlike the sweet Hawaiian selections it belongs to the acid group, classed together with the Puerto Rican clone 'B-17', which means it is grown for juice, preserves and vitamin C rather than for fresh eating. Acid-type acerolas consistently test higher in ascorbic acid than the sweet types, which is why this group persisted in the collections even after breeders shifted toward palatable dessert clones. It appears in the California Rare Fruit Growers cultivar list, with the caveat that these Hawaiian clones are seldom encountered in the mainland trade. It survives today mainly as conserved germplasm and as a rare-fruit collector's plant.