Fruits That Start With U

Fruits that start with U are among the least known in the entire A to Z fruit series, yet they include some genuinely remarkable nutritional performers. From a wrinkly Jamaican citrus hybrid to ancient Japanese plums, Brazilian palm fruits, and West African forest fruits, the letter U delivers global variety and solid research-backed health value.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has long advocated for greater inclusion of underutilized indigenous fruits in global diets, noting that many lesser-known fruits offer micronutrient profiles that rival or surpass commercially dominant species. The Lancet published landmark research establishing that dietary diversity at the fruit and vegetable level is independently associated with lower all-cause mortality, regardless of total quantity consumed. The 10 fruits below represent exactly the kind of diversity that research supports.

10 Fruits That Begin With U: Complete List with Health Benefits

1. Ugli Fruit: The Wrinkly Jamaican Citrus

Ugli fruit, also marketed as Uniq fruit, is a citrus hybrid developed naturally in Jamaica, believed to be a cross between a tangerine, grapefruit, and Seville orange. Its name comes from its appearance: a loose, wrinkled, blotchy green-yellow skin that looks nothing like a conventional citrus fruit. Beneath that unappealing exterior is a supremely juicy, sweet-tart flesh that outperforms its looks dramatically.

Health benefits: Ugli fruit provides a strong dose of vitamin C alongside the flavonoid hesperidin and naringenin, compounds studied for their anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular protective effects. Research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has documented that hybrid citrus varieties like ugli fruit often contain a broader range of flavonoid compounds than their parent species, potentially offering additive antioxidant benefits. The fruit is also a good source of folate and potassium.

Best eaten: Peeled and eaten fresh like a mandarin, halved and scooped like a grapefruit, or juiced for a sweet-tart morning drink.

2. Umbu: The Brazilian Drought Fruit

Umbu (Spondias tuberosa) is a small yellow-green fruit native to the semi-arid Caatinga region of northeastern Brazil, where it grows on trees that store water in enormous underground tubers, allowing them to fruit even during severe drought. The fruit has a thin skin, juicy translucent flesh, and a flavor that balances sweet and intensely tart in a way that locals compare to a cross between green grape and passion fruit.

Health benefits: Umbu is a significant source of vitamin C, providing meaningful immune support in a region where other fresh fruits are scarce during dry seasons. It also contains carotenoids and organic acids with antioxidant activity. Research published in Food Science and Technology documented umbu’s phenolic content and antioxidant capacity, highlighting its nutritional importance as a food security fruit for communities across the Brazilian semi-arid zone where it has been a dietary staple for thousands of years.

Best eaten: Fresh, blended into umbuzada (a traditional Brazilian drink with umbu and milk or coconut milk), or made into jams, jellies, and frozen pulp.

3. Uva Ursi: The Bearberry

Uva ursi (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), whose name means “bear’s grape” in both Latin and Spanish, is a small red berry that grows on a low creeping shrub across the arctic and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Bears famously seek it out in late summer and fall. The berry is mealy and bland when eaten raw but has been used medicinally and as a food source by Indigenous peoples across its range for centuries.

Health benefits: Uva ursi is best known for arbutin, a glycoside compound that converts to hydroquinone in the urinary tract and has well-documented antimicrobial properties, making it one of the most studied herbal fruits for urinary tract health. The European Medicines Agency has formally recognized uva ursi leaf preparations as a traditional herbal medicine for mild urinary tract infections, with the berry sharing the same active compounds. The fruit also contains significant tannins and anthocyanins with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

Best eaten: Dried and brewed into herbal tea, used in traditional Indigenous food preparations, or taken as a standardized herbal extract.

4. Ugni: The Chilean Guava

Ugni (Ugni molinae), also called Chilean guava or murta, is a small aromatic berry native to Chile and Argentina that produces tiny deep red to purple fruits with a flavor reminiscent of strawberry, vanilla, and bubblegum. It was reportedly a favorite fruit of Queen Victoria, who had plants brought to England from Chile. Today it is cultivated as an ornamental and fruiting shrub in mild climates worldwide.

Health benefits: Ugni berries are rich in anthocyanins, ellagitannins, and vitamin C, with a polyphenol profile similar to other small berries in the Myrtaceae family. Research published in the journal LWT Food Science and Technology documented significant antioxidant activity in ugni berry extracts, with ellagitannin compounds demonstrating anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties in laboratory assays. The fruit has a long history of use in Chilean folk medicine for digestive complaints and wound healing.

Best eaten: Fresh off the shrub, made into mermelada de murta (Chilean murta jam), brewed into herbal tea, or used in artisan liqueurs and craft beverages.

5. Ume: The Japanese Plum

Ume (Prunus mume) is a stone fruit native to China and long cultivated in Japan, closely related to both plum and apricot but distinct from both. The fruit is extremely tart and astringent when raw, almost inedible fresh, but becomes one of the most complex and beloved flavors in East Asian cuisine when pickled, dried, or processed. Umeboshi (salt-pickled ume) and ume extract are consumed daily by millions across Japan and China.

Health benefits: Ume contains mumefural and other organic acids including citric, malic, and succinic acid, which support energy metabolism by facilitating the citric acid cycle at the cellular level. Research published in the European Journal of Nutrition found that ume extract consumption significantly reduced fatigue markers in physically active adults and supported recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage. Umeboshi also provides beneficial organic acids that support digestive motility and have demonstrated antimicrobial activity against common foodborne pathogens.

Best eaten: As umeboshi (salt-pickled, eaten with rice), as ume syrup or extract in drinks, or as umeshu (ume liqueur steeped with sugar and shochu).

6. Ulluco Fruit: The Andean Rainbow Berry

Ulluco (Ullucus tuberosus) is primarily known as an Andean tuber crop, but the plant also produces small, fleshy botanical fruits that are true berries in the technical sense. These tiny berries are rarely eaten and poorly documented nutritionally, but the plant as a whole, including its leaves and fruit, has been cultivated and consumed across the Andes for over 5,000 years. The fruit is included here for botanical completeness and cultural significance.

Health benefits: The ulluco plant is rich in betalains, the same pigment antioxidants found in beets and prickly pear, concentrated across both the tuber and the plant’s tissue. Research in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has documented the betalain profile of ulluco, finding both betacyanins and betaxanthins present in significant concentrations with meaningful antioxidant activity. The plant’s fruits share these pigment compounds alongside vitamin C and dietary fiber typical of small berries.

Best eaten: The fruit is rarely consumed on its own; the leaves are eaten as a vegetable across the Andes and are nutritionally more accessible than the fruit itself.

7. Usuma: The Peanut Butter Fruit

Usuma (Bunchosia argentea), also called peanut butter fruit, is a small tropical fruit native to South America that produces clusters of smooth red to orange oval fruits with a dry, sticky, dense flesh that has a flavor and texture remarkably similar to peanut butter or sweet almond paste. It is one of the most unusual flavor profiles found in any fruit.

Health benefits: Usuma provides beta-carotene, vitamin C, and dietary fiber alongside its unusual macronutrient profile of higher-than-average protein and fat for a fruit. Research on Bunchosia species in the journal Economic Botany has documented traditional food and medicinal uses across South America, with the fruit consumed for energy and the plant used in folk medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties. Its carotenoid content supports immune function and skin health.

Best eaten: Fresh when fully soft and ripe, spread on bread or crackers like nut butter, blended into smoothies, or eaten as a naturally sweet snack.

8. Udara: The African Star Apple

Udara (Chrysophyllum albidum), also called African star apple or white star apple, is a fruit native to the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa. When cut crosswise, the fruit reveals a star-shaped pattern of seed chambers in the translucent, milky-white flesh, giving it its name. The flavor is sweet with a hint of tartness and a distinctive resinous note, and the fruit is enormously popular across Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.

Health benefits: Udara is a notable source of vitamin C, calcium, and dietary fiber, with a seed and peel rich in polyphenolic compounds. Research published in the African Journal of Food Science documented significant antioxidant activity and phenolic content in udara fruit extracts, with the pulp showing anti-inflammatory properties in laboratory assays. The fruit is used across West African traditional medicine for management of fever, wound healing, and digestive complaints, with several of these applications supported by emerging laboratory evidence.

Best eaten: Fresh, sucking the pulp from around the seeds; the milky latex near the skin is edible but slightly sticky.

9. Uapaca Fruit: The Southern African Sugar Plum

Uapaca (Uapaca kirkiana), commonly called sugar plum tree or mahobohobo in Zimbabwe and Zambia, produces small round fruits that ripen from green to yellow-brown and contain a sweet, fibrous yellow flesh surrounding a large seed. It is one of the most important indigenous fruit trees of the miombo woodlands of southern Africa and a critical food security and income source for rural communities across the region.

Health benefits: Uapaca fruit is a source of vitamin C, sugars for quick energy, and dietary fiber. Research published in the journal Agroforestry Systems documented the nutritional composition and economic importance of Uapaca kirkiana across Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, finding it to be a significant contributor to household nutrition during the fruiting season when other food sources may be limited. The fruit also contains tannins and phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties documented in regional food science research.

Best eaten: Fresh off the tree when fully ripe, fermented into traditional beer and wine, or dried for storage and later consumption.

10. Uricuri Palm Fruit: The Brazilian Licuri Palm

Uricuri (Syagrus coronata), also called licuri or ouricuri, is a palm fruit native to the semi-arid Caatinga and cerrado regions of Brazil, producing small round fruits in dense clusters with a thin orange flesh surrounding a hard seed. The flesh is eaten fresh and the seed kernel is pressed for a valuable oil rich in lauric acid, the same medium-chain saturated fat found in coconut oil. It is an essential food source for the endangered Lear’s macaw.

Health benefits: Uricuri flesh provides carotenoids including beta-carotene and lutein alongside dietary fiber and natural sugars for quick energy. The kernel oil contains over 40% lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid studied for its antimicrobial properties and rapid metabolism compared to long-chain fats. Research in the Brazilian Journal of Biology has documented the ecological and nutritional importance of uricuri in the Caatinga ecosystem, noting its role as a keystone food species for both wildlife and human communities in one of the world’s most threatened biomes.

Best eaten: Flesh eaten fresh or sun-dried; kernel cracked and pressed for oil used in cooking and cosmetics; commonly roasted and sold as a street snack in northeastern Brazil.

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The Bottom Line

Fruits that start with U may be the least familiar letter in this entire series, but they represent some of the most culturally significant and nutritionally interesting fruits on earth. From Japan’s ancient umeboshi tradition to West Africa’s beloved udara, Brazil’s drought-resistant umbu, and the Arctic’s medicinal bearberry, these 10 fruits remind you that extraordinary nutrition is often found far outside the supermarket produce aisle. Seek them out at specialty markets, international grocers, or online importers whenever the opportunity arises.

Nutritional data sourced from the USDA FoodData Central database and published nutritional analyses. Values are approximate and may vary based on variety, ripeness, and growing conditions.