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Syzygium malaccense
Myrtaceae FAMILY

Syzygium malaccense

Syzygium malaccense

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

A plant of the fairly moist, lowland tropics, where it can also be found at elevations up to 1,200 metres[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 16 - 33°c[2]. The plant is intolerant of frost[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 1,600mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 2,200mm[2]. Plants can tolerate a dry season, but do best in areas with year-round rainfall[4]. Prefers a rich, well-drained soil and a position in full sun[5]. Succeeds in the poor, coralline soils of low-lying islands[5]. Dislikes very acid soils[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 8[2]. Plants take from 4 - 5 years to flower from seed, with maximum yields being achieved after about 10 years[6]. Plants can fruit up to three times a year, flowering seeming to be initiated by a period of wet weather following a dry spell[6]. In some years, fruiting can take place almost continually[6]. Yields of 60 - 80 kilos have been recorded[6]. There are some named forms[7, 8]. Young trees transplant very easily[5].

Propagation

Seed - needs to be sown fresh from the fruit because it has a very limited viability[6]. Give light shade to the seedlings when young[6]. Air layering is the most common vegetative method of reproduction[9]. Cuttings. Grafting or budding, but only use seedlings of the same species[9]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Syzygium+malaccense>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  4. [4]Food Plants of Papua New Guinea — French. B.R. · Author. · 2006 ↩︎Published on-line in PDF format, this book contains information on several hundred New Guinea food plants.
  5. [5]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  6. [6]Under-Utilized Tropical Fruits of Thailand. RAP — Suranant Subhadrabandhu · F. A. O., The United Nations, Bangkok. · 2001 · http://www.fao.org/3/a-ab777e.pdf ↩︎A detailed report on 35 fruit species that could have potential for increased production in Thailand. The report can be downloadd as a PDF from the internet.
  7. [7]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  8. [8]Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants — http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/rfk/index.html ↩︎An online resource giving botanical information, and a little bit about plant usage, for over 2,700 species of plants found in the Australian rainforest.
  9. [9]Growing Food in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. — French B.R. · 1982 · http://www.learngrow.org/uploads/file/2Growing%20food%20plants%20SHP.pdf ↩︎Originally compiled as a part of AFTSEMU, in a World Bank funded project in Papua New Guinea in 1982, it was made available as a pdf document in 2006.
  10. [10]Guide to the Trees of Papua New Guinea — Conn. B.J. & Damas. K.Q. · http://www.pngplants.org/PNGtrees/ ↩︎An Internet site giving good descriptions of the trees of Papua New Guinea.
  11. [11]Brazilian Fruits and Cultivated Exotics — Lorenzi. H.; Bacher. L.; Lacerda. M.; Sartori. S. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora LTDA; Brazil. · 2000 · ISBN 85-867174-24-0 ↩︎A superb book, giving information on several hundred fruit species. Each entry has a brief description of the plant and its uses, accompanied by one to many excellent quality photographs of the fruits.
  12. [12]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  13. [13]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  14. [14]Medicinal Plants in the South Pacific — WHO Regional Publications, Manilla. · 1998 · ISBN 92-9061-118-9 ↩︎Excellent guide to 102 medicinal herbs of the Pacific Islands, with photographs of each plant and details of their constituents, biological activities and traditional uses. A description of each plant, together with habitat and distribution is given.
  15. [15]Tropical Food Gardens — Norrington. L. · Bloomings Books (Melbourne) · 2001 · ISBN 1-876473-41-x ↩︎Excellent little book giving some basic information on a range of plants.
  16. [16]Flowers of India — http://www.flowersofindia.net/ ↩︎A wed site of native Indian plants, plus cultivated and naturalized species. It has good quality photos and terse details on more than 3,000 species and cultivars.
  17. [17]Medicinal Plants in Papua New Guinea — World Health Organisation · 2009 · ISBN 978-92-9061-249-0 ↩︎Traditional medicinal uses of 126 species from Papua New Guinea, including information on modern research into the plants.
  18. [18]Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands — Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H. · USDA, Forest Service; Washington. · 1964 ↩︎Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.