''Syzygium ingens'', commonly known as red apple, is a species of flowering plant that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to eastern Australia. It is a medium-sized to tall rainforest tree with narrow elliptic to oblong leaves and

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s of white flowers on the ends of branchlets, followed by spherical red berries.

Description

''Syzygium ingens'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of up to with a dbh of up to . It has a smooth, straight, greyish or fawn-coloured trunk that is buttressed at the base of older specimens. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, narrow elliptic to oblong, long and wide on a reddish petiole long. The upper surface of the leaves is glossy green and the lower surface is paler with a raised mid-rib. The flowers are borne in panicles on the ends of branchlets, the panicles shorter than the leaves. The five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s are fused at the base forming a bell-shaped

floral cup In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...

about in diameter with rounded lobes. The five petals are white, more or less oblong and long with irregular edges. Flowering occurs from November to December and the fruit is a dark pink to red, spherical to oval

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

, long, in diameter containing a single seed surrounded by white flesh.

Taxonomy

Red apple was first formally described in 1861 by Charles Moore in ''Catalogue of the Natural and Industrial Products of New South Wales, exhibited in the School of Arts by the International Exhibition Commissioners'' and was given the name ''Nelitris ingens'' from an unpublished description by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

. In 1988, Gordon P. Guymer and

Bernard Hyland Bernard Hyland (Bernard Patrick Matthew Hyland, born 1937), known as Bernie Hyland, is an Australian botanist. He has contributed significantly to the understanding of Australian plants, in particular numerous species of his home and workplace ...

changed the name to ''Acmena ingens'' in the journal '' Muelleria'', a name that is accepted by the

National Herbarium of New South Wales The National Herbarium of New South Wales was established in 1853. The Herbarium has a collection of more than 1.4 million plant specimens, making it the second largest collection of pressed, dried plant specimens in Australia,Thiers, B. ...

. In 2006,

Lyndley Craven Lyndley Alan Craven (3 September 1945 – 11 July 2014) was a botanist who became the Principal Research Scientist of the Australian National Herbarium. Lyndley ("Lyn") Craven worked for the CSIRO plant taxonomy unit of the New Guinea Survey Gr ...

and Edward Sturt Biffin changed Moore's name ''Nelitris ingens'' to ''Syzygium ingens'' in the journal ''

Blumea ''Blumea'' is a genus of flowering plants of the family Asteraceae. Characteristics Genus ''Blumea'' is found in the tropical and sub-tropical zones of Asia, especially the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. A few species are found in Aust ...

'', the name accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

Distribution and habitat

Red apple grows on volcanic soil from near

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River (Queen ...

in south eastern Queensland to

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

in northern New South Wales.

Ecology

Birds seen eating the fruit of this species include

wompoo fruit dove The wompoo fruit dove (''Ptilinopus magnificus''), also known as wompoo pigeon, is one of the larger fruit doves native to New Guinea and eastern Australia. Taxonomy and systematics Subspecies There are generally 7-8 recognised subspecies ...

green catbird The green catbird (''Ailuroedus crassirostris'') is a species of bowerbird found in subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. It is named after its distinctive call which soun ...

eastern rosella The eastern rosella (''Platycercus eximius'') is a rosella native to southeastern Australia and Tasmania. It has been introduced to New Zealand where feral populations are found in the North Island (notably in the northern half of the island, Ta ...

pied currawong The pied currawong (''Strepera graculina'') is a black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus ''Strepera'', it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of ...

and

topknot pigeon The topknot pigeon (''Lopholaimus antarcticus'') is a pigeon native to eastern Australia. Taxonomy English naturalist George Shaw described the topknot pigeon as ''Columba antarctica'' in 1793. The topknot pigeon is sister taxon to a lineage th ...

Use in horticulture

Germination is assisted by removing the seed from the flesh, and soaking for a day or two to kill any insect larvae. Germination is swift and reliable. Cuttings also strike well.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4674412 Myrtales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Myrtaceae Taxa named by Bernard Hyland