Please Help Me To Identify The Tree (4)

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by POPO, Dec 27, 2005.

  1. POPO

    POPO Active Member

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    Please Kindly Help Me To Name This Tree.
     

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  2. jimmyq

    jimmyq Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Leaf looks like Ligustrum to me.
     
  3. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    . . . but the fruit is nothing like Ligustrum!

    Might be a Guava (Psidium) of some sort?
     
  4. jimmyq

    jimmyq Well-Known Member 10 Years

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  5. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Strawberry guava has a rounded end with protruding calyx. It's not Surinam cherry (Eugenia uniflora), either--that was another one that came to mind. I've seen this one, of course, having been to California and Hawaii many times. Try a nursery, arboretum or botanic garden if nobody soon gets it here. Snip a twig with leaves and fruits, take it in.
     
  6. wrygrass2

    wrygrass2 Active Member 10 Years

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    It's a guess, but perhaps another Eugenia species? Perhaps E. aggregata?? before the fruit got completely ripe?

    Harry
     
  7. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    How about Syzygium samarangense (Purdue's New Crops site) / wax apple (Wikipedia)?

    Should also note that Lam. put it in the genus Eugenia... (Eugenia javanica)
     
  8. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Or, the image of the fruit more closely approximates Syzygium malaccense -- most of the time. An image search for the two different species on Google yields images of pear-shaped fruit in both species, though more often for Syzygium malaccense. I'm not sure what information is required to botanically separate the two. This species was also placed in Eugenia, but by Linnaeus.
     
  9. PalmBoy

    PalmBoy Member

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    Sounds to me like u have a Wax Jambu. Does it have white flowers with four pedals?
     
  10. PalmBoy

    PalmBoy Member

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    Possibly a Maylay apple. What confuses me is these are the same shape but neither of them are comparable in color to yours.
     
  11. POPO

    POPO Active Member

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    Thanks everyone!
    I post more picture here.
     

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  12. Weekend Gardener

    Weekend Gardener Active Member 10 Years

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    It's a "wax apple". The correct botanical name, I believe is, Syzygium samarangense , although there are a number of synonyms - S. javanicum, Eugenia javanica . I grew up in Malaysia, and these shrubs/trees were very commonly grown in those days. There is quite a number of varieties with differences in fruit sizes, color, growth habits, and tastes. We call them "Jambu" locally, but in other parts of South East Asia, it has been called "java apple", "water apple", and "wax jambu", and "Jambu Ayer (Air).

    Interestingly, it belongs to the myrtaceae (myrtle family). The texture of the furits has a crunch that is crispier than biting into a fresh cumcumber, but not as smooth. That, to me, is a better comparision than to an apple. While the commercial varieties are juicy and sweet, other less commonly grown varieties can give your palate a real shock - they can be very sour! And the central white pith surrounding the single, occassionally double, seed has a texture like cotton.

    The tree itself ranges from a small shrub to a a short tree, up to 40-50 feet tall at the most. If I recall, the wood is very hard - I remember how difficult it was to cut them down.

    Nowadays, you may be able to find it in the tropical produce sections of supermarkets, but your best bet is to visit an Asian supermarket or grocery store (in Vancouver and Lower Mainland, try T & T Supermarket). It's fruiting is seasonal though. And the ones I have seen are, well, expensive.
     

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