Stayin' Alive

    Like all plants, Camu camu acquires its food by absorbing light energy from the sun by a process called photosynthesis.  Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar, which the process of cellular respiration converts into ATP.  This process uses water and carbon dioxide which enters the cells of the leaf and chlorophyll absorbs the light, converting the sunlight energy into usable chemical energy.  After the two stage processes involved in photosynthesis, the plant makes the sugar, glucose and releases the valuable oxygen.

    Once the glucose is produced, it can be transported to all parts of the plant via phloem (tubes that transport food in plants).  The sugar travels down sieve tubes and is distributed throughout the entire plant.  The direction of flow is from the source (usually the leaves) to the sink (the growing tissue that needs sugar).  This process of pushing sugars down sieve tubes requires energy.
    As the food is making its way down the tree, water is making its way up.  Water enters the root through root hairs and is transported upward through the stem as a result of cohesion in the xylem.  The water goes from high water potential to low water potential (from roots to leaves).  The water potential in the leaves is low due to transpiration (evaporation) in the cell walls of the leaves through stomata (pores on leaves for gas exchange). 
    The plant stores its food (the glucose) throughout different areas, mainly the roots and also during seed production, a lot of the food       is stored in the fruit which covers and protects the seed.

   
   
   
    Camu camu grows in the Amazon flood plain which means that each year during the rainy season the river banks flood and the trees are submerged underwater for up to four months.  This plant needs to overcome the high levels of water and ultimately benefits from it.  The water floods the soil and the nutrient matter that has been mixed around the rainforest is re-deposited.  Therefore, this cycle ensures rich nutrient soil for the Camu camu plant.