Syzygium samarangense

Not to be confused with Malay apple (Syzygium malaccense).

Syzygium samarangense
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Syzygium
Species:	S. samarangense
Binomial name
Syzygium samarangense (Blume) Merrill & Perry

Syzygium samarangense (syn. Eugenia javanica) is a plant species in the Myrtaceae, native to India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Thailand,^[1] and widely cultivated in the tropics. English common names include wax apple, love apple, java apple, Royal Apple, bellfruit, Jamaican Apple, water apple, mountain apple, cloud apple, wax jambu, rose apple, and bell fruit.

Cultivation and uses

Syzygium samarangense is a tropical tree growing to 12 m tall, with evergreen leaves 10–25 cm long and 5–10 cm broad. The flowers are white, 2.5 cm diameter, with four petals and numerous stamens. The fruit is a bell-shaped edible berry, with colors ranging from white, pale green, green, red, purple, crimson, to deep purple or even black, 4–6 cm long in wild plants. The flowers and resulting fruit are not limited to the axils of the leaves and can appear on nearly any point on the surface of the trunk and branches. When mature, the tree is considered a heavy bearer and can yield a crop of up to 700 fruits.^[2]

Syzygium samarangense, with a cross section of the fruit

Two of the most highly prized and sought after wax apples in Taiwan are "black pearls," which are purplish-red, and the very rare green pearls, (only found in Xinshi District, Tainan) which are small and green . When it is ripe, the fruit will puff outwards, with a slight concavity in the middle of the underside of the "bell". Healthy wax apples have a light sheen to them. Despite its name, a ripe wax apple only resembles an apple on the outside in color. It doesn't taste like an apple, and it has neither the fragrance nor the density of an apple. Its flavor is similar to a snow pear, and the liquid to flesh ratio of the wax apple is comparable to a watermelon. Unlike either apple or watermelon, the wax apple's flesh has a very loose weave. The very middle holds a seed that's situated in a sort of cotton-candy-like mesh. This mesh is edible but flavorless. The color of its juice depends on the cultivar of the fruit; it may be purple to entirely colorless.

A number of cultivars with larger fruit have been selected. In general, the paler or darker the color is, the sweeter it is. In South East Asia, the black ones are nicknamed "Black Pearl" or "Black Diamond," while the very pale greenish white ones are called "Pearl." They are among the highest priced ones in fruit markets.^{[clarification needed]}

The fruit is often served uncut but with the core removed, in order to preserve the unique bell shape presentation.

In Indian ocean island cuisine, the fruit is frequently used in salads, as well in with light sauteed dishes.

References

1. ^ Whistler, W. Arthur (1978). "Vegetation of the Montane Region of Savai'i, Western Samoa". Pacific Science (The University Press of Hawai'i) 32 (1): 90. http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/1423/1/v32n1-79-94.pdf. Retrieved 10 July 2010. 
2. ^ "Fruits of warm climates". Java Apple (Miami, FL): 381–382. 1987.