Goumi Fruit
Goumi scientifically known as elaeagnus multiflora are
the fruit of the deciduous to semi-evergreen shrub of the Elaeagnaceae family.
The Goumi plant is grown in some places for its edible fruit though
predominantly it is grown as an ornamental shrub. The plant is native to China,
Korea and Japan. It is also grown in various parts of North America and Europe.
This species has become naturalized in different regions of eastern United
States. Other names of the plant are
Gumi, Longipe bush, Natsu-gumi, Cherry Elaeagnus and Cherry silverberry.
These fruits have an attractive and delicious appearance
and contain one large seed of 1 to 2 cm in length. The shape of these drupe fruits ranges from
round to oval. Their colour ranges from dark red to scarlet when properly ripe.
The ripe fruits are also spotted with brown or silver dots. The juicy fruits
have a characteristic sweet acidic taste.
The Goumi prolifically produces clusters of delicious
little berries. They are both sour and
sweet. Some varieties of Goumi are sweeter than others, some are more sour. These
berries pack a big dose of Vitamin C. They
plump up and get real juicy when ripe. The nice thing is they are really easy
to harvest. Many of the berries ripen at the same time, so it can be
convenient to dedicated the time to harvest most of them at once, and then get
the stragglers here and there a few times in successive harvests.
The fruits have not experienced commercial success as
they are too delicate to transport fresh without damaging them. Its edible
fruits are popularly used for various purposes around the world. Goumi shrub
is, however, starting to become a popular companion plant as a result of its
nitrogen fixing ability which allows it to feed itself and surrounding plants
with the nitrogen it produces.
Flowers are solitary or in pairs in the leaf axils,
fragrant, with a four-lobed pale yellowish-white corolla 1.5 cm long. Flowering
occurs in mid-spring. Flowering normally takes place from April to May. Fertile
flowers are followed by round to oval drupe 1 cm long and hang on a peduncle
with a length of 2 or 3 cm. The fruits are orange with silvery scales when
young but turn red after maturing. They can be harvested once ripe at the end
of summer and are edible, with a particular taste. The bright red skin is
capped with a long thin stem, similar to a cherry. When ripe in mid- to late
summer, the fruit is juicy and edible, with a sweet but astringent taste. The
skin of the fruit is thin and fragile, making it difficult to transport, thus
reducing its viability as a food crop. The inner flesh of the Goumi fruit is
juicy and surrounds a central, fibrous seed which though technically edible is
not normally consumed. Immature fruits are very astringent, which makes them
inedible.
Caring for Goumi berry shrubs are very durable. The
plants can survive temperatures as low as -4 F. (-20 C.). Although the
aboveground plant may die back at colder temperatures, the roots can survive as
low as -22 F. (-30 C.) and will regrow again in the spring. The shrubs can
tolerate any kind of soil, from sand to clay and acidic to alkaline. They will
grow in nutritionally poor soil and polluted air, and will do well in full sun
or partial shade. They can even tolerate salty sea air. In other words, growing
goumi berries does not take a lot of special care.
The berries themselves are 1-2 cm wide, round and bright
red. The shrub flowers in the spring and the fruits ripen in high summer. Goumi
berries are best harvested by shaking the shrub and collecting the berries on a
sheet below. This can be hard on the plant, however, and you need to be careful
not to damage the tender young shoots. It helps to harvest the berries when
they are at their ripest – they should be a deep scarlet colour and not as
acidic in flavour. That being said, they are quite acidic even at their ripest,
which is why they’re often made into pies and jams.
As with other species in the genus Elaeagnus, Elaeagnus
multiflora plants are actinorhizal, growing in symbiosis with the
actinobacterium Frankia in the soil. These bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen,
making it available in usable form for the host plant, and indirectly for other
nearby plants. This feature allows the plant to grow in poorer soils than it
could otherwise. This species is occasionally grown in Europe and North America
as an ornamental plant and for its fruit. It is an established exotic species
in parts of the eastern United States.
Fruit can be consumed raw or cooked. Pleasantly acid when ripe, they make a very
good dessert fruit though they are usually made into pies, preserves etc. Fruit must be fully ripe before it can be
enjoyed raw, if even slightly under-ripe it will be quite astringent. Seed can be consumed raw or cooked. It can be eaten with the fruit though the
seed case is rather fibrous. Ripe fruits
and seeds are eaten raw. They are
sometimes used for making various types of desserts. The under ripe Goumi fruits are also used for
making delicious jams and jellies. These
fruits are often pickled and used in preservatives.
Goumis can be propagated by cutting, layering or seed. They
can be grown easily from seeds. The seeds take around 18 months to germinate. The
Goumi bush can live in temperatures down to -20 °C while its roots can survive
in -30 °C temperature. It is considered to be an invasive species in some parts
of the USA. This tree species is related
to Russian olive, Silverberry and Autumn olive.
This fruit is a very rich source of vitamins and
minerals, especially in vitamins A, C and E, flavonoids and other bio-active
compounds. It is also a fairly good
source of essential fatty acids, which is fairly unusual for a fruit. It is being considered as a food that is
capable of reducing the incidence of cancer and also as a means of halting or
reversing the growth of cancers. Leaves
are used in the treatment of coughs. Fruit
is recommended in the treatment of watery diarrhea. Fruits are believed to be able to reduce
cholesterol. They are sometimes used for
treating watery diarrhea. Astringent
root can be used to alleviate foul sores and itchiness. Antioxidant content of goumi fruit can help
to boost our immune system.
Goumi is a versatile, easy to grow edible fruit and
attractive shrub that produces a highly nutritional fruit. It can be planted as a hedge, tolerates a
wide range of soil and conditions, and almost entirely pest and disease
free. This plant is “nitrogen
fixing”: it places the very important
fertilizer - nitrogen into the soil.
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