Plumiers Bromelia Seeds (Bromelia karatas)

Plumier's Bromelia Seeds (Bromelia karatas)

Price for Package of 5 seeds.

Bromelia karatas is a species of tropical plants in the Bromeliaceae family, widely distributed from the Caribbean to Central and South America. Its edible fruit is consumed by humans in fruit juice or raw.

The species is hemicryptophyte. It occurs in rosettes with short and robust stems which reproduces by runners or seedlings. The leaves are 2 to 3 meters in length and 4 to 6 centimeters in width. Strong thorns are arranged on the edge of the blade. The flowers are sessile.

The spindle-shaped greyish-yellow to red fruit is 4 to 8 centimeters in length, contains very many small black seeds in a white juicy flesh

Food use

The species is widely found in the wild but is also cultivated in hedges. Its red-skinned fruit with a flavor similar to that of the best-known species of Bromeliaceae, pineapple or Ananas comosus, is eaten raw or in fruit juice. Due to its high bromelina content, the fruit is susceptible to attack the mucous membranes of the mouth.

The fruit is known by many names, especially in Venezuela (camburito, chigüichigüe, curibijil, quiribijil, curujujul or cuscuta), in Mexico (cocuixtle, jocuiste or jocuixtle, timbiriche, timbirichi, in Cuba (maya cimarrona, maya piñon, maya de ratón), in Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela as piñuela, in Puerto Rico as piña de cuervo, in Portuguese as caraguata, carauata, coroata, croata and in French as carata , karatas, “penguin pineapple” 4 or even penguin bayyonnet.

In Mexico, especially Chiapas and the Hidalgo, the fruit is known as timbiriche and the fruit juice common in popular markets as agua de sabor. In the state of Jalisco, the fruit is known by several names, including piñuela, cocuixtle, or jocuixtle, and is eaten raw or used as the base for a taco sauce. It is also consumed in the state of Zacatecas where it is imported from Jalisco. In Peru, the juice is sucked directly from the fruit.