''Syzygium malaccense'' is a species of

flowering A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

tree native to tropical Asia and Australia. It is one of the species cultivated since prehistoric times by the

Austronesian peoples The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austro ...

. They were carried and introduced deliberately to

Remote Oceania Remote Oceania is the part of Oceania settled within the last 3,000 to 3,500 years, comprising south-eastern Island Melanesia and islands in the open Pacific east of the Solomon Islands: Fiji, Micronesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Polynesia, t ...

canoe plants One of the major human migration events was the maritime settlement of the islands of the Indo-Pacific by the Austronesian peoples, believed to have started from at least 5,500 to 4,000 BP (3500 to 2000 BCE). These migrations were accompani ...

. In modern times, it has been introduced throughout the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referr ...

, including many Caribbean countries and territories.

Names

''Syzygium malaccense'' has a number of English common names. It is known as a Malay rose apple, or simply Malay apple, mountain apple, rose apple, Otaheite apple, pink satin-ash, plumrose and ''pommerac'' (derived from ''pomme Malac'', meaning "Malayan apple" in French). Despite the fact that it is sometimes called the Otaheite cashew, it is not related to cashew. While cashew nuts (but not cashew fruits) may trigger allergic reactions, rose apple fruit has not been observed to do so. In Costa Rica is known as Manzana de Agua. It is found mainly in the rainy zones on the Atlantic Coast of the country. In Colombia, Puerto Rico, and other Latin American countries is also found and known as Poma Rosa.

Description

The combination of tree, flowers and fruit has been praised as the most beautiful of the genus ''Syzygium''. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

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 A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

. Its taste is bland but refreshing.

Jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and ente ...

is prepared by stewing the flesh with

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

and ginger. Syzygium malaccense, Mangunharjo Orchard, Dlingo, Yogyakarta

Cultivation

Malay apple is a strictly tropical tree and will be damaged by freezing temperatures. It thrives in humid climates with an annual rainfall of or more. It can grow at a variety of

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

s, from

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

up to . The tree can grow to 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 both divert birds and provide shade. In Hawaii, ''Syzygium malaccense'' is called mountain apple or 'Ōhi'a 'ai. When the Polynesians reached the Hawaiian Islands, they brought plants and animals that were important to them. The mountain apple was one of these "

," arriving 1000–1700 years ago.

Nutrition

The mountain apple is an edible fruit that can be consumed when raw and ripe. In

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, the Malay apple is used to make

wines Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

, in Hawai'i, 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 Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...

but less sweet than an

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

. Below is a chart with more

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient ...

information derived from Malay apples found in

Hawai'i Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

, El Salvador, and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. Due to the high water content, the Mountain Apple is lower in calories than a Gala apple or a Fuji apple and contains a moderate amount of vitamins and minerals.

History

In 1793, Captain

William Bligh Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...

was commissioned to procure edible fruits from the Pacific Islands for

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, including this species.

Gallery

File:Starr 070321-6134 Syzygium malaccense.jpg, Fruits File:Syzygium malaccense at Kadavoor.jpg, Flower buds File:Pommerac01.JPG, Fruits File:Pommerac.whole.jpg, A ripened ''Syzygium malaccense'' whole. File:Pommerac.cut.jpg, A ripened ''Syzygium malaccense'' cut into half, showing the seed.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q31936 malaccense Trees of Australia Trees of Malesia Trees of Papuasia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fruit trees