It is endemic to Colombia, specifically to Sibundoy and surrounding areas, and usually resides in cloud forests, 1400–2300 meters in elevation.

Although a good candidate for trial as a fruit crop, it may be difficult to successfully cultivate this species outside the specialized climate of southern Colombia where it is native.

[5] In New Zealand, it was noted that trees cultivated in semi-shade set large crops of fruit, but plants grown in full sun performed very poorly.

[6] Historically, the fruit has been used to make black, blue, or yellow dye by the natives of the Sibundoy Valley of southern Colombia.

Schultes and Raffauf (1990) report that the Kamsá Indians of the Sibundoy Valley (southwestern Colombia) use a decoction of the leaves for this purpose.