Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston
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Family
Myrtaceae (Magnoliophyta)
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Scientific Name
Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston
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Primary Citation
Handb. Fl. Ceylon 6: 115. 1931
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Basionym
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Common Names
Malabar plum, apel en wai, iouen wai, kavika ni India, rose-apple, kavika ni vavalangi, Malabar plum, pomarrosa, pomme rose, rose apple, plum rose, manzana rosa
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Description
Author: Maria Lúcia Kawasaki
Description: Shrubs or trees ca. 6 m tall. Leaves: petioles to 1 cm long; blades lanceolate, 15-20 × 3-5 cm, drying olive-green or greenish-brown, paler below, coriaceous, glabrous, indistinctly punctate on both surfaces, the base obtuse to cuneate, the apex long-acuminate; midvein impressed on the upper surface; lateral veins 10-15 pairs, indistinct or slightly salient above, salient below; marginal veins 2, the innermost 2-5 mm from margin. Inflorescences terminal, racemes with 4-8 flowers; peduncles to 3 cm long, glabrous; pedicels to 15 mm long. Flowers: buds obconical, ca. 2 cm long; hypanthium glabrous; calyx lobes suborbicular, ca. 6 mm long; petals ca. 15 mm long, glabrous; stamens to 4 cm long; style to 4 cm long. Fruits subglobose, 3-4 cm diam., glabrous; seeds ca. 3 cm long.
Common names: Rose apple, jambo.
Distribution: native to southeastern Asia but commonly cultivated in the tropics of both hemispheres.
Ecology: Cultivated and sometimes persisting long after it has been abandoned and then found in secondary forests.
Phenology: Fl in Mar.
Pollination: No observations recorded.
Dispersal: No observations recorded but the fruits are eaten by animals and the seeds are most likely dispersed by them.
Taxonomic notes: This species was described for the Plants and Lichens of Saba project and most accurately applies to it as it occurs on this island.
Uses: Commonly cultivated as ornamental tree and for the edible fruits
Etymology: The epithet most likely alludes to the common name of the species.
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Narratives
