Syzigium cumini (L.) Skeels
(Duwet / Jamblang)
Picture 4. Syzigium cumini
Classification
Kingdom : Plantae
Kingdom : Plantae
Divisi : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Myrtales
Family : Myrtaceae
Genus : Syzygium R.Br. ex Gaertn.
Species :
Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels
Other
Scientific Names
·
Calyptranthes
jambolana Willd.
·
Eugenia
cumini (L.) Druce
·
Eugenia
djouat Perr.
·
Eugenia
jambolana Lam.
·
Myrtus
cumini L.
·
Syzygium
jambolana Lam.
·
Syzygium
jambolanum DC.
Description
Syzygium
cumini, habit tree, may reach 30 m
tall in India and Oceania or up to 12–15 m in Florida, USA, with a broad crown
up to 11 m in diameter and a trunk diameter of 0.6–0.9 m though it usually has
a multi-stemmed form branching close to the ground. Bark is rough, cracked,
flaking and discoloured on the lower part of the trunk, becoming smooth and
light-grey higher up. Evergreen leaves have a turpentine smell, and are
opposite, 5–25 cm long, 2.5–10 cm wide, oblong-oval or elliptic, blunt or
tapering to a point at the apex; pinkish when young, becoming leathery, glossy,
dark-green above, lighter beneath, with a conspicuous, yellowish midrib when
mature. Flowers are fragrant and appear in clusters 2.5–10 cm long, each being
1.25 cm wide and 2.5 cm long, with a funnel-shaped calyx and 4–5 united petals,
white at first, becoming rose-pink, shedding rapidly to leave only the numerous
stamens. Fruit appear in clusters of just a few or 10–40, are round or oblong,
often curved, 1.25–5 cm long, turning from green to light-magenta, then
dark-purple or nearly black, although a white-fruited form has been reported in
Indonesia. The skin is thin, smooth, glossy, and adherent. The pulp is purple
or white, very juicy, and normally encloses a single, oblong, green or brown
seed, up to 4 cm long, though some fruits have 2–5 seeds tightly compressed
within a leathery coat, and some are seedless. The fruit is usually astringent,
sometimes unpalatably so, and the flavour varies from acid to fairly sweet (Cabi, 2019).
Spot
Character
The fruit is oblong to ovoid, shining
crimson black in color when ripening.
Distribution
Tropical Asia
Benefit
Edible fruit
Location
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