Recognized commonly by its regional names such as Chilean guava or strawberry myrtle, Ugni molinae is a shrub with evergreen foliage and it grows from 30 cm to 170 cm tall. Indigenous to Chile and neighboring regions of southern Argentina, the fruit is occasionally marketed as Ugniberry.
In New Zealand, they are marketed as New Zealand cranberry. Cultivated to a small extent, in general, the fruit is small in size; say just about 1 cm diameter and these berries are red, white or purple in color. If cultivated in its natural habitat, (the Valdivian temperate rain forests) the fruit is said to mature in autumn from March to May. Though the handling of the fruit in cooking is limited to southern Chile where it grows, the fruits are processed in order to make jams and the Murta con membrillo dessert and in Kuchens.
Antioxidants present in the fruit is said to have a number of health-promoting benefits in people, counting:
Reducing the risk of some cancers
Cardiovascular disease
Development of cataracts
Pathological disorders
Gastric and duodenal ulcers
Allergies
Vascular fragility
Viral and bacterial infections