West Indian Cherry grows well on Salt Cay

Residents of Salt Cay are making tremendous effort to grow their own fruit and vegetables which is pretty difficult given the poor soil conditions. However one lovely surprise is how well the West Indian cherry grows .

West Indian Cherry tree in the garden at Sunnyside, one of the old salt Merchant homes on Salt Cay.

Now it is believed that the West Indian cherry originated in the Caribbean...migatory birds would carry the seeds from island to island and the indigenous Indians would carry the young seedlings with them and plant  them in their settlements.


And so after planting a couple of trees on Salt Cay we now find that the West Indian cherry can grow well in the salty soil. 
The West Indian cherry also known as Acerola and Barbados cherry is now thought to be one of the richest known source of natural vitamin C..
 One very interesting fact is that after extensive research at the Agricultural Centre in Rio Piedras Puerto Rico there is now the widespread idea of cultivating these trees commercially for their high content of natural ascorbic acid...vitamin C, widely used in many medicines ....
Anyone on Salt Cay want to take up the challenge!...   
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