Tianzhu Large Bloodvine Fruit

Tianzhu Large Bloodvine Fruit

　　Tianzhu Large Bloodvine Fruit is a specialty of Tianzhu County in Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province. The fruit of the large bloodvine in Tianzhu is an aggregate fruit, shaped like a soccer ball, textured yet smooth. When young, the fruit is dark green, and when ripe, it turns a deep red — strikingly beautiful, uniquely adorable, juicy, delicious, richly sweet, and fragrant, with excellent color, aroma, and taste.

　　Tianzhu Sacred Fruit (Large Bloodvine) is originally native to the primeval forests of the Tianzhu area. It is a woody evergreen vine plant, with fruit that is an aggregate type, shaped like a soccer ball, textured yet smooth. The young fruit is dark green, and when mature, it turns a deep red — visually striking, uniquely charming, juicy, delicious, richly sweet, and aromatic, with excellent color, aroma, and flavor. Each fruit weighs between 0.5–0.8 kilograms, and larger ones can reach up to 1.2 kilograms. The fruits ripen in November and can be left on the tree racks until around the Spring Festival for sale. They can also be harvested and stored indoors naturally before being released to the market in February or March of the following year. Cuttings planted in spring will bear fruit in the second year, and enter their peak production period in the fourth year. With a planting density of 120 plants per mu, each plant can produce 30–50 fruits. At peak production, yield can exceed 3,000 kilograms per mu. In its first year of growth, the main vine of the large bloodvine can grow up to 3 meters long, and by the third year, the main vine can reach 20 meters. Planting requires the setup of trellises, but it is also suitable for intercropping with orchards, economic forests, or other tree plantations, allowing the use of fruit tree branches as trellises without affecting fruit yield. It can also be used for courtyard or corridor trellis cultivation, or grown in dwarf pots as an ornamental fruit plant. According to Miao herbal medicine practitioners, regular consumption of large bloodvine fruit has various health benefits, such as dispelling wind and unblocking meridians, regulating qi and relieving pain, improving liver function and vision, nourishing kidney and consolidating essence, enriching blood and beautifying skin.