{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Redirect|Jamun|the dessert popular in Indian cuisine|gulab jamun}} {{Speciesbox |image = Syzygium cumini Bra30.png |status = LC |status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). |author2=IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group |date=2019 |title=''Syzygium cumini'' |volume=2019 |article-number=e.T49487196A145821979 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T49487196A145821979.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> |genus = Syzygium |species = cumini |authority = (L.) Skeels.<ref name=POWO>{{cite POWO |title=''Syzygium cumini'' (L.) Skeels |id=601603-1 |access-date=21 September 2024}}</ref> |synonyms = {{Collapsible list |bullets = on |''Calyptranthes caryophyllifolia'' {{Au|Willd.}} |''Calyptranthes cumini'' {{Au|(L.) Pers.}} |''Calyptranthes cuminodora'' {{Au|Stokes}} |''Calyptranthes jambolana'' {{Au|(Lam.) Willd.}} |''Calyptranthes jambolifera'' {{Au|Stokes}} |''Calyptranthes oneillii'' {{Au|Lundell}} |''Calyptranthes pedunculata'' {{Au|Forsyth f.}} |''Caryophyllus corticosus'' {{Au|Stokes}} |''Caryophyllus jambos'' {{Au|Stokes}} |''Eugenia brachiata'' {{Au|Roxb.}} |''Eugenia calyptrata'' {{Au|Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.}} |''Eugenia caryophyllifolia'' {{Au|Lam.}} |''Eugenia cumini'' {{Au|(L.) Druce}} |''Eugenia djouat'' {{Au|Perrier}} |''Eugenia fruticosa'' {{Au|(DC.) Roxb.}} |''Eugenia jambolana'' {{Au|Lam.}} |''Eugenia jambolifera'' {{Au|Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.}} |''Eugenia obovata'' {{Au|Poir.}} |''Eugenia obtusifolia'' {{Au|Roxb.}} |''Eugenia odorata'' {{Au|Wight}} |''Eugenia tenuis'' {{Au|Duthie}} |''Eugenia tsoi'' {{Au|Merr. & Chun}} |''Jambolifera chinensis'' {{Au|Spreng.}} |''Jambolifera coromandelica'' {{Au|Houtt.}} |''Myrtus corticosa'' {{Au|Spreng.}} |''Myrtus cumini'' {{Au|L.}} |''Myrtus obovata'' {{Au|(Poir.) Spreng.}} |''Syzygium brachiatum'' {{Au|(Roxb.) Miq.}} |''Syzygium caryophyllifolium'' {{Au|(Lam.) DC.}} |''Syzygium fruticosum'' {{Au|DC.}} |''Syzygium jambolanum'' {{Au|(Lam.) DC.}} |''Syzygium obovatum'' {{Au|(Poir.) DC.}} |''Syzygium obtusifolium'' {{Au|(Roxb.) Kostel.}} |''Syzygium pseudojambolana'' {{Au|Miq.}} |''Syzygium tenue'' {{Au|(Duthie) N.P.Balakr.}} }} |synonyms_ref = <ref name=POWO/> }} [[File:Jamun Gachhi.jpg|thumb|View of Syzygium cumini tree at ''Laxman Garden'' in Basuki Bihari. In the Mithila region, it is known as ''Jamun Gachhi''.]] '''''Syzygium cumini''''', also known as '''Java plum''',<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN|id=36128|name=''Syzygium cumini''|access-date=22 October 2017}}</ref> '''Malabar plum''',<ref name=GRIN/> '''black plum''', '''jamun''', '''jaman''', '''jambul''', '''jambu''', or '''jambolan''', is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, and favored for its fruit, timber, and ornamental value.<ref name="morton">{{Cite web |last=Julia F Morton |date=1987 |title=Jambolan, ''Syzygium cumini'' Skeels |url=https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/jambolan.html |access-date=3 July 2020 |publisher=In: Fruits of Warm Climates, p. 375–378; NewCROP, New Crop Resource Online Program, Center for New Crops and Plant Products, Purdue University}}</ref><ref name="cabi">{{Cite web |date=21 November 2019 |title=''Syzygium cumini'' (black plum) |url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/52426 |access-date=3 July 2020 |publisher=CABI}}</ref><ref name="e357">{{cite web | last=Khandelwal | first=Heena | title=Around Town: Summer fruit jamun creates space for itself in Mumbai restaurants' menu | website=The Indian Express | date=7 May 2023 | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-around-town-summer-fruit-jamun-restaurants-menu-8594868/ | access-date=27 October 2025}}</ref> It is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.<ref name="morton" /><ref name=POWO/> It can reach heights of up to {{cvt|30|m|-1}} and can live more than 100 years.<ref name="morton" /> A rapidly growing plant, it is considered an invasive species in many world regions.<ref name="cabi" />
''Syzygium cumini'' has been introduced to areas including islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.<ref name="pier">{{Cite web |date=30 December 2011 |title=Syzygium cumini |url=http://www.hear.org/pier/species/syzygium_cumini.htm |publisher=Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk}}</ref>
The tree was introduced to Florida and is grown in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide.<ref name=cabi/> Its fruits are eaten by various native birds and small mammals, such as jackals, civets, and fruit bats.<ref name=cabi/>
==Description== thumb|''Syzygium cumini'' fruit color changing from green to pink to blood red to black as it matures Its dense foliage provides shade and is grown for its ornamental value. At the base of the tree, the bark is rough and dark grey, becoming lighter grey and smoother higher up. The wood is water resistant after being kiln-dried.<ref name=morton/> Because of this, it is used in railway sleepers and to install motors in wells. It is sometimes used to make cheap furniture and village dwellings, though it is relatively hard for carpentry.<ref name=morton/>
The aromatic leaves are pinkish when young, changing to a leathery, glossy dark green with a yellow midrib as they mature. The leaves are used as food for livestock, as they have good nutritional value.<ref name="janick">''The encyclopedia of fruit & nuts'', By Jules Janick, Robert E. Paull, p. 552</ref>
''Syzygium cumini'' trees start flowering from March to April. The flowers are fragrant and small, about {{convert|5|mm|1|abbr=on}} in diameter. The fruits develop by May or June and resemble large berries; the fruit of ''Syzygium'' species is described as "drupaceous".<ref name="FoC">{{Citation |last1=Chen |first1=Jie |title=Flora of China ''(online)'' |editor-last=Wu |editor-first=Zhengyi |editor-last2=Raven |editor-first2=Peter H. |editor-last3=Hong |editor-first3=Deyuan |url=http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=2 |access-date=2015-08-13 |chapter=Syzygium |chapter-url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=132166 |publisher=eFloras.org |name-list-style=amp |last2=Craven |first2=Lyn A.}} </ref> The fruit is oblong, ovoid. Unripe fruit looks green. As it matures, its color changes to pink, then to shining crimson red and finally to black color. A variant of the tree produces white-coloured fruit. The fruit has a combination of sweet, mildly sour, and astringent flavour and tends to colour the tongue purple.<ref name=morton/> {{nutritional value | name=Java-plum, (jambolan), raw | water=83 g | kJ=251 | protein=0.7 g | fat=0.23 g | carbs=16 g | calcium_mg=19 | iron_mg=0.2 | magnesium_mg=15 | phosphorus_mg=17 | potassium_mg=79 | sodium_mg=14 | vitC_mg=14 | thiamin_mg=0.006 | riboflavin_mg=0.012 | niacin_mg=0.26 | vitB6_mg=0.038 | source_usda = 1 | note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/168150/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry] }}
==Distribution== ''Syzygium cumini'' is native to the Indian subcontinent (the Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Assam state, the Laccadive Islands and Sri Lanka); China (Hainan province, South-Central and Southeast China); Indonesia (Java, the Maluku Islands, Sulawesi); Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar); Australia (Queensland).<ref name=POWO/>
==Invasive species== This species is considered invasive in Florida, South Africa, parts of the Caribbean, several islands of Oceania, and Hawaii.<ref name=cabi/><ref name=pier/>
==Culinary uses== Jambolan fruits have a sweet or slightly acidic flavor, are eaten raw, and may be made into sauces or jam.<ref name=morton/> Fruits may be made into juice, jelly, sorbet, syrup (e.g., ''kala khatta''),<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Kala Khatta Syrup ? Glossary | Benefits, Uses, Recipes with Kala Khatta Syrup | |url=https://www.tarladalal.com/glossary-kala-khatta-syrup-1959i#:~:text=This%20dark%20purple%2C%20sweet%20tangy,together%20on%20a%20wooden%20stick}}</ref> or fruit salad.<ref name=morton/>
===Nutrition=== Raw fruit is 83% water, 16% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contains negligible fat. In a reference amount of {{cvt|100|g}}, the raw fruit provides 60 calories and a moderate content of vitamin C, with no other micronutrients in appreciable amounts (table).
==Uses== The 1889 book ''The Useful Native Plants of Australia'' states that this plant (referred to by the synonym ''Eugenia jambolana'') was called ''durobbi'' by some Indigenous Australians.<ref name="MAIDEN">{{cite book |last=Maiden |first=J. H. |title=The Useful Native Plants of Australia, (Including Tasmania) |date=1889 |volume=1889 |publisher=The Technological Museum of New South Wales |location=Sydney |page=28 |access-date=19 December 2025 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12453208 }}</ref> Dietrich Brandis also wrote of the plant:<ref name="BRANDIS">{{cite book |last1=Brandis |first1=Dietrich |title=The Forest Flora of North-West and Central India |date=1874 |publisher=Wm. H. Allen & Co. |location=London |page=234 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/19606721 |access-date=18 December 2025 }}</ref> <blockquote>"The fruit is much eaten by the natives of India: in appearance it resembles a damson, has a harsh but sweetish flavour, somewhat astringent and acid. Is much eaten by birds; a favourite food of the large bat (flying fox). A kind of vinegar is prepared from it, which is used in diseases of the spleen."</blockquote> The fruit has been used in traditional medicine.<ref name=morton/><ref name=cabi/>
==Cultural and religious significance in India== {{More citations needed section|date=March 2016}} In the Majjhima Nikāya, three parallel texts (MN 36, MN 85 and MN 100) claim that the Buddha remembered an experience of sitting in the cool shade of a jambu tree when he was a child. While his father was working, he entered into a meditative state which he later understood to be the first stage of Jhāna meditation. The texts claim that this was a formative experience, which later encouraged him to explore and practise Jhāna meditation, and that this then led to his Awakening. The Pāli word jambu is understood by Pāli dictionaries to refer to the ''Syzygium cumini'' which they often translate as the Rose-apple tree.<ref>Rhys-Davids, Pali-English Dictionary; Cone, Dictionary of Pali</ref>
Krishna was said to have four symbols of the jambu fruit on his right foot as mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatam commentary (verse 10.30.25), "Sri Rupa Chintamani" and "Ananda Candrika" by Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vishvanatha |first=Cakravarti Thakura |title=Sarartha-darsini |date=2011 |publisher=Sri Vaikunta Enterprises |isbn=978-81-89564-13-1 |edition=Bhanu Swami |page=790}}</ref>
In Maharashtra, ''Syzygium cumini'' leaves are used in marriage pandal decorations. A song from the 1977 film ''Jait Re Jait'' mentions the fruit in the song "Jambhul Piklya Zaadakhali".
Besides the fruits, wood from {{transliteration|te|neredu}} tree (as it is called in the region's language, Telugu) is used in Andhra Pradesh to make bullock cart wheels and other agricultural equipment. The timber of {{transliteration|te|neredu}} is used to construct doors and windows.
Legend in Tamil Nadu speaks of Avvaiyar (also Auvaiyar or Auvayar) of the Sangam period and the jamun fruit, called {{transliteration|ta|naval pazham}} in Tamil. Avvaiyar, believing to have achieved everything that is to be achieved, is said to have been pondering over her retirement from Tamil literary work while resting under {{transliteration|ta|naval pazham}} tree. There she was met with and was wittily jousted by a disguised Murugan, regarded as one of the guardian deities of Tamil language, who later revealed himself and made her realize that there is still a lot more to be done and learnt.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ramadevi |first=B. |date=3 March 2014 |title=The saint of the masses |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/the-saint-of-the-masses/article5746486.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501172127/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/the-saint-of-the-masses/article5746486.ece |archive-date=1 May 2021 |work=The Hindu}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Syzygium cumini plants.jpg|Saplings File:Jaam tree2.JPG|A line of mature trees File:Kalo jam foliage1.JPG|Close view of foliage File:Syzygium cumini plant.jpg|Young plant File:Jamun Seeds.jpg|Seeds File:Java plum (Syzygium cumini) seeds.jpg|Seeds File:Flower of Jamblang (Syzygium cumini) 01.JPG|Flower buds and open flowers File:Kalo jaam.JPG|Fruits in various stages of ripeness File:Syzygium cumini 03.JPG|Fruits File:Syzygium cumini.jpg|Fruit File:Ripe jamun fruits.jpg|Ripe fruits for sale in a market File:Phaledo.jpg|Ripe fruits for sale in a local market of Nepal. File:Jamun ripe fruits sprinkled with crystal salt JEG9149.jpg|Jamun ripe fruits sprinkled with crystal salt and kept under Sun in India.</gallery>
==See also== * Duhat wine * Jambudvipa * Badlapur Jamun
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons-inline}} * {{PFAF|Syzygium cumini}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q232571}}
cumini Category:Medicinal plants Category:Trees of the Indian subcontinent Category:Trees of Indo-China Category:Trees of Malesia Category:Flora of Queensland Category:Tropical fruit Category:Fruit trees Category:Austronesian agriculture Category:Plants described in 1753