Syzygium malaccense

Syzygium malaccense is a species of flowering tree native to tropical Asia and Australia. It was cultivated from prehistoric times by the Austronesian peoples and introduced deliberately to remote Oceania as canoe plants. In modern times, it has been introduced throughout the tropics, including the Caribbean. The ripe fruit is edible but with little flavor.

Description

An evergreen tree 5 to 25 m tall. It spreads out to 4 m across. Trees tend to branch near the base. Leaves are simple, thick and leathery and shiny on both surfaces. They are large and oval. Leaves can be up to 25-30 cm long and 12 cm wide. The leaves have a vein around the edge of the leaf. Flowers are produced on old wood and on the trunk as well as in the angles where leaves join and at the ends of branches. Flowers are purple, crimson or white and 2.5 cm across. They mostly occur in dense clusters giving a brilliant display. The red stamens are often fallen under the tree. The fruit is rounded or oblong and 5-6 cm across by 6-8 cm long. The fruit has white flesh around a large brown seed. The seed is about 1.3 cm by 1.7 cm. Some kinds are seedless. The skin of the fruit is red or pink with darker stripes. The fruit are edible.

Edible Uses

The mountain apple is an edible fruit that can be consumed when raw and ripe. Its taste is bland but refreshing. In 1793, Captain William Bligh was commissioned to procure edible fruits from the Pacific Islands for Jamaica, including this species. He brought back this from Tahiti (called Otaheite at the time). In Puerto Rico, the Malay apple is used to make wines, in Hawaiʻi, the fruits are consumed the same way a Pacific Northwest apple is eaten. Indonesians consume the flowers of the tree in salads and in Guyana the skin of the mountain apple is cooked down to make a syrup. A mountain apple has a white fleshy fruit that has a similar texture to a pear but less sweet than an apple. Jam can be prepared by stewing the flesh with brown sugar and ginger. Coffee growers use the species to both divert birds and provide shade.

Traditional Uses

The fruit can be eaten fresh or cooked. They are also used in jam and pickles. The young leaves while still red are eaten. The flowers have also been recorded as being eaten. They are preserved in syrup or eaten in salads.

Medicinal Uses

Various parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine, the leaves and bark have in fact been shown to possess antibiotic activity, the bark is astringent, whilst the plant is also weakly hypoglycaemic. The plant contains tannins and is astringent. In particular the bark, leaves and roots of Malay apple are used against different ailments. An infusion of the bark is used to treat tuberculosis, mouth infections, stomach ache and abdominal ailments. The bark is used to cure mouth sores in children. It is also used as a purgative and to treat venereal diseases. The leaves are used to treat red eyes. A decoction of the leaves is used as a wash on skin infections. Other conditions treated with this plant include cough; yellow urine and bad appetite; as a remedy for deep bone pains, diabetes, gonorrhoea, swollen stomach after childbirth, sore throat, thrush, bronchitis and to relieve constipation.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It suits hot, wet tropical lowlands. They grow in coastal areas in the tropics and up to 1000 m altitude. It is a rainforest species. It suits humid locations. They need fertile soil, plenty of moisture, and good drainage. They are sensitive to frost. It does best in an open sunny position. It can tolerate drought but does best where there is an absence of drought. It does not grow on atolls. It will grow with soil pH of 6.1-7.4. They occur in northeast Queensland in Australia and across Malesia. They have also been introduced into other regions. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Where It Grows

Africa, Amazon, American Samoa, Antigua and Barbuda, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bougainville, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central America, China, Colombia, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, French Polynesia, FSM, Ghana, Guam, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kosrae, Malaysia, Maldives, Marquesas, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Northeastern India, Pacific, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Puerto Rico, Rotuma, Samoa, SE Asia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South America, Sri Lanka, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Tahiti, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, West Africa, West Indies, Yap,

Cultivation

Trees are normally grown from seed. Seeds need to be fresh. Seeds germinate in 2-4 weeks. They can be put in a nursery and transplanted after 8 months. Where termites are a problem damaging seedlings, growing them in light shade reduces the problem. Plants can be grown by budding, grafting, layering or cuttings. Aerial layering is probably the most common method for vegetative propagation. Budding onto rootstocks of the same species have proven successful, but they are rarely successful if rootstocks of related species are used. A spacing of 10 m between trees is suitable.

Propagation

Seed - needs to be sown fresh from the fruit because it has a very limited viability. Give light shade to the seedlings when young. Air layering is the most common vegetative method of reproduction. Cuttings. Grafting or budding, but only use seedlings of the same species.

Other Uses

A reddish brown dye for making patterns on tapa bark cloth, can be processed from the bark and the root. The reddish to light brown wood is hard, tough, very heavy, but tending to warp, and difficult to work. It is used locally for construction. The wood is traditionally used in Hawaii to build beams for their hale, house and for fashioning bowls and poi-boards.

Production

Flowering and fruiting is seasonal. In the southern hemisphere flowering is about October to November. In northeastern India flowers occur in April to May and fruit occur in May to June. Fruit ripen in 2-3 months. The fruit are ripe January to February. The yield can be 21-85 kg per tree per year.

Other Information

A common village fruit tree in coastal areas of Papua New Guinea. It is cultivated.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

'ahi'a, Aceituna dulce, Acpuhl, Afio, Apel, Apil, Apuchu, Arfath, Bakoba, Barka jamun, Chom pu deng, Chomphuu-saaraek, Chumpu kraham, Daav, Darsana, Dersana, Dervem, Dork may, Faliap, Faliyap, Fekakai, Fekika kai, Gabic, Gafiga, Gahiga, Ghabiga, Ghavika, Hahi'a, Hahika, Harafath, Hipala, Hotung, Jambo-de-malaca, Jambo-vermelho, Jambu bar, Jambu bol, Jambu gadang, Jambu jambak, Jambu kling, Jambu melaka, Jambu merah, Jambu mol, Jambul bubul, Jamrool, Kabirai, Kahuek, Kalabau, Kama, Kano, Kapika, Karukae, Kaviha, Kavika, Kehi'a, Kehika, Kidel, Lal-jamrul, Maa janbu, Mafyoksi, Makopa, Makopang, Makupa, Mansana, Maranon, Matofaa, Mazenya, Mountain-apple, Mwagolu, Nonau, Nonu 'ai, Nonu fi'afi'a, 'ohi'a, Okak, Otaheite-apple, Panijamu, Pera costena, Peria jambu, Pomarosa, Pomerac, Pommerak, Pucuk jambak, Roi do, Rose-apple, Sa’au, Sa’u, Tahiti apple, Te kabika, Thabyu-thabye, Yambu, Zabu-thabye-ahni

References (113)

• Malay apple references Syzygium malaccense
• AAK, 1980, Bertanam Pohon Buah-buahan. Penerbitan Yayasan Kanisius, Jogyakarta. p 20
• Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 46
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 89
• Ashton, P., 1981. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. 2:428-429.

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