JAVA PLUM
Scientific name: Syzygium cumini
Family: Myrtaceae/myrtle
Origin: Southeast Asia, India
Description:
Evergreen tree reaching up to eighty feet in height, with young stems grayish white and lower bark coarse and discolored. Leaves opposite, plain, elliptic-to-broadly oblong, smooth, glossy, somewhat leathery, two-to-five inches long, short pointed at tips; leaf stalks up to 1.2 inches long; leaf midrib prominent, yellowish; blades with many lateral veins closely parallel. Flowers white to pinkish, about 1/2 inch across, in branched clusters at stem tips, four petals, and many stamens. Fruit oval shaped; one-seeded berry up to 1/8 inch long, dark purplish red, shiny, with white-to-lavender flesh.
Habitat/Ecology:
Occurs in pine flat woods, marshes, and hammocks, forming dense canopies, shading out young native trees. Thrives in low wet areas, as well as higher well-drained lands. Produces fruit in five-to-six years when grown from seeds; flowers year round, but mostly in the spring. Seeds dispersed by birds and mammals.
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