Jabuticaba Index®

Categorizing Brazilian singularities. From the capybara to the precatório.

Nature#5 of 26Fictional data

Jabuticaba

The fruit that names the index and grows stuck to the trunk.

Machine translation, not yet reviewed.

01Where else it exists

Projection
Argentina: MarginalBolivia: MarginalBrazilParaguay: RegionalUnited States: Absent (checked) – Marginal
Argentina: MarginalBolivia: MarginalBrazilParaguay: RegionalUnited States: Absent (checked) – Marginal
  • Local presence(Marginal → Widespread)
  • Exported from Brazil(Marginal → Widespread)
  • Brazil
  • Absent (checked)
  • No data

Sovereign projection: Equal Earth centered on 60° W, south up, as on IBGE's world maps. Colonial projection: Equal Earth. Places with uncertain presence take the color of the highest possible level; the table shows the full range.

Place (4)
PlacePresenceWeightSources
ParaguayRegional0.5[1]
ArgentinaMarginal0.1[1]
BoliviaMarginal0.1[1]
United StatesAbsent (checked) – Marginal0–0.1[1]
Presence abroad0.7–0.8

02What exactly is being measured

Plinia cauliflora, native or cultivated, in orchards or backyards.

03Context

The jabuticaba is this index’s unit of measurement and, for methodological consistency, it was measured too [1].

The data show residual presence in neighboring countries [2, p. 12], which has not stopped anyone from using it as a metaphor.

04How we got this number

Presence abroad

Sum of each place's weight: widespread = 1, regional = 0.5, marginal = 0.1. Where it only exists as a Brazilian export, the weight is multiplied by 0.5.

0.75 (0.7–0.8)
Exclusivity E

From 0 (exists everywhere) to 1 (only in Brazil), on a log scale.

0.88 (0.87–0.89)
Intensity I

How much more common it is in Brazil than in the other places where it exists.

Grown at national scale in Brazil; abroad, limited to backyards and collectors. [2]

4 of 4
Rarity coefficient R

R = E + 0.5 × (I ÷ 4) × (1 − E)

R = 0.88 + 0.5 × (4 ÷ 4) × (1 − 0.88) = 0.94

0.94
Jabuticaba Index®
94%

Not part of the score

Awareness

How aware Brazilians are that this is rare abroad.

Used as a national metaphor for anything that only exists in Brazil. editorial judgment

4 of 4

Evidence grade

Computed from source types: from A (official and academic data) to D (editorial judgment). It does not change the index.

A

05Sources

  1. [1]

    Censo Imaginário de Coisas Brasileiras 2025

    Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia Imaginária · 2025 · Statistical data · in Portuguese

    example.org/fictional-census · accessed Sep 25, 2026

  2. [2]

    A. Nonymous, P. Laceholder. A Global Survey of Allegedly Unique Things

    University of Nowhere Press · Jun 2024 · Academic

    example.org/fictional-survey · accessed Sep 25, 2026