Jabuticaba: Looking for the unexpected

 


As a young man I was walking in Brazil and happened to notice something very odd on a tree - there were fruit-like things growing all over the trunk and major branches! Not out on the smaller branches and stems like I normally expected. They looked like delightful bing cherries, dark purple and juicy. But without a stem, connected directly to the tree.

Being young and invincible, I bravely plucked one off and popped it in my mouth. It was nothing like a cherry. It squished more like a grape - kind of a thick skin, surrounding a soft pulpy interior, and a couple of seeds like you might find in non-seedless grapes. And it was DELICIOUS! A very distinctive flavor, sweet and tart. I confess I ate more than a few. And then returned to enjoy them again.

I learned it was a Jabuticaba tree (zhah-boo-tchee-KAH-bah), native to Brazil but now found in other South American countries. The fruit spoil rather quickly and so are rarely found fresh outside the area where they are grown. So it's one of those things where you have to be in the right place, at the right time, in order to experience it. I happened to get lucky that day in Brazil.

This experience has become symbolic to me of looking for unexpected things at unexpected times and in unexpected places. It's a part of being inquisitive - keeping our eyes open for unusual things along the way, especially in the outdoors. It means slowing down a little and exploring for details. As you do this, you quickly learn to #GiveThanks for the marvels and miracles of the world we live in.

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