| Malacca Apple | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
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Rare (NCA)
|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Syzygium |
| Species: | S. malaccense |
| Binomial name | |
| Syzygium malaccense (L.) Merr. & L.M.Perry, 1938 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Caryophyllus malaccensis (L.) Stokes |
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Syzygium malaccense, commonly known as Malay apple, is a species of flowering tree native to Malaysia,[1] Indonesia (Sumatra and Java)[1] and southern Vietnam. It has been introduced throughout the tropics, including many Caribbean countries, such as Jamaica, Suriname, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is also known as jambu merah (Malaysian language, meaning "red guava"), jambu bol (Indonesian, meaning "ball guava"), Malay rose apple, Otaheite cashew and pommerac (derived from pomme Malac, meaning "Malaysian apple" in French). Highly ambiguous terms, such as "rose apple", "water apple", "mountain apple", pomarrosa or "plum rose" are sometimes used for this plant or its fruit; they can refer to almost any species of Syzygium grown for its fruit. The name "Otaheite apple" is used, too, (in Jamaica), but is better used for the Tahitian apple (Spondias dulcis); "Otaheite" is an obsolete transcription of "Tahiti". Its Hawaiian name is ʻōhiʻa ʻai; in Tonga, it is known as fekika, and in Fiji, kavika.
The combination of tree, flowers and fruit has been praised as the most beautiful of the Myrtaceae family.[2] The fruit is oblong-shaped and dark red in color, although some varieties have white or pink skins. The flesh is white and surrounds a large seed. Jam is prepared by stewing the flesh with brown sugar and ginger.
Malay apple is a strictly tropical tree damaged by freezing temperatures.[3] It thrives in humid climates with an annual rainfall of 152 cm (60 in) or more. It can grow at a variety of altitudes, from sea level up to 2,740 m (8,990 ft). The tree can grow to 12–18 m (39–59 ft) in height. It flowers in early summer, bearing fruit three months afterward. In Costa Rica, it flowers earlier, with ripe fruit in April. Coffee growers use the species to divert birds.
In Hawaii, Syzygium malaccense is called mountain apple. The Polynesians, when they reached the Hawaiian Islands, had brought plants and animals that were important to them. The mountain apple was one of these "canoe plants" that arrived 1000 to 1700 years ago.[4]