The World of Apples

The apples that aren't

Java apple

Syzygium samarangense, Myrtaceae, the myrtle family

The Java apple is indigenous “from Malaya to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands”, with wild trees in the coastal forests, and is “frequently cultivated in India and in Zanzibar and Pemba, but primarily as an ornamental”. In Sri Lanka it ripens from March to May2. Morton lists its names: samarang rose apple, jambu ayer rhio in Malaya, pini jambu in Sri Lanka, jumrool in India2; the Maldives call it jan’buroalu3.

In Malaya the greenish fruits are eaten raw with salt or cooked into a sauce, and are “also stewed with true apples”; the pink ones are juicier and eaten out of hand2.

Sources

  1. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Syzygium samarangense, Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Supports: the accepted name and family.
  2. Java Apple, in Fruits of Warm Climates, Julia F. Morton, 1987, Purdue University NewCROP. Supports: the range, the names and how the fruit is eaten.
  3. English-Maldives Dhivehi dictionary, Two Thousand Isles, 2017. Supports: the Dhivehi name.