94,129
edits
Changes
From Gardenology.org - Plant Encyclopedia and Gardening Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to searchno edit summary
{{Taxobox | name = ''Syzygium jambos''
| image = Syzygium jambos.JPG
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Myrtales]]
| familia = [[Myrtaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Syzygium]]''
| species = '''''S. jambos'''''
| binomial = ''Syzygium jambos''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]] Alston
}}
== Common Names ==
The fruit tree '''''Syzygium jambos''''' (syn. ''Eugenia jambos'', ''Jambosa jambos'') has several common names, including '''chom pu''' or '''chom-phu''', '''rose apple''', '''Malay apple''', '''Malabar plum''', '''jambu''', '''champakka''' and '''pomarrosa'''. The edible fruit is shaped like a small pear. The plant is native to [[Southeast Asia]] but is naturalized in [[India]], especially the state of [[Kerala]]. It has also been introduced across the Americas where it now grows in wild thickets. Specimens have been planted on nearly every continent.
The tree has long, glossy green leaves and white or greenish flowers. There are several varieties, including the one most common in Thailand bearing a pale green fruit, and Malaysian varieties with red skin. It is often some shade of dull yellow. The skin is thin and waxy, and the hollow core contains a small amount of inedible fluff. The flesh is a bit softer than that of an [[apple]]. It tastes like a cross between apple and [[watermelon]], with a very mild rose scent and a slightly bitter [[aftertaste]].
In ancient [[Sanskrit]], the land now called [[India]] was referred to by the ancient Indians themselves as ''[[Jambudvipa]]'', which means ''Roseappleland'' (''jambu'' = rose apple; ''dvipa'' = land).
This plant can be quite invasive in areas where it has been introduced. It is a threat to several ecosystems, including those on several [[Hawaii|Hawaiian islands]], [[Réunion]], and the [[Galápagos Islands]], and in parts of [[Australia]] and [[Central America]].
== Images ==
== Images ==
</gallery>
</gallery>
[[Category:Syzygium]]
==External links==
*[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/rose_apple.html The Rose Apple]
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SYJA USDA profile]
*[http://www.hear.org/Pier/species/syzygium_jambos.htm Invasive species]
