{{short description|Species of plant}} {{Redirect|Mountain Apple|the record label|Mountain Apple Company}} {{Speciesbox | name = | image = Syzygium malaccense, Mangunharjo Orchard, Dlingo, Yogyakarta.jpg | image2 = Pommerac trinidad all rights reserved Wikipedia Justin Isaacs.jpg | image2_caption = ''Syzygium malaccense'' Flower and Fruit | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="IUCN">{{cite iucn |author1=Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) |author2=IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group. |year=2018 |title=''Syzygium malaccense'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T136055196A136139387 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T136055196A136139387.en |access-date=22 June 2025}}</ref> | status2 = R | status2_system = QLDNCA | status2_ref = | genus = Syzygium | species = malaccense | authority = (L.) Merr. & L.M.Perry, 1938 | synonyms = {{Species list |header=17 synonyms |hidden=yes |Caryophyllus malaccensis|(L.) Stokes |Eugenia malaccensis|L. |Jambosa malaccensis|(L.) DC. |Myrtus malaccensis|(L.) Spreng. |Eugenia domestica|Baill. |Eugenia macrophylla|Lam. |Eugenia pseudomalaccensis|Linden |Eugenia purpurascens|Baill. |Eugenia purpurea|Roxb. |Jambosa domestica|DC. |Jambosa laevis|Montrouz. |Jambosa macrophylla|(Lam.) DC. |Jambosa purpurascens|DC. |Jambosa purpurea|(Roxb.) Wight & Arn. |Myrtus lamarckii|F.Dietr. |Myrtus macrophylla|(Lam.) Spreng. |Syzygium laeve|(Montrouz.) Govaerts }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:601907-1 |title=''Syzygium malaccense'' (L.) Merr. & L.M.Perry |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2025 |access-date=22 June 2025 |archive-date=12 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250412171146/https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:601907-1 |url-status=live }}</ref> }}
'''''Syzygium malaccense''''' is a species of flowering tree native to tropical Asia and Australia. It was cultivated from prehistoric times by the Austronesian peoples and introduced deliberately to remote Oceania as canoe plants. In modern times, it has been introduced throughout the tropics, including the Caribbean. The ripe fruit is edible but with little flavor.
==Names== ''Syzygium malaccense'' has a number of English common names. It is known as '''Malay rose apple''', '''Malay apple''', '''mountain apple''', '''rose apple''', '''Otaheite apple''', '''pink satin-ash''', '''Jamaican Apple''', '''plumrose''' and '''''pommerac''''' (derived from {{lang|fr|pomme Malac}}, meaning 'Malayan apple' in French).<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN | access-date=2009-11-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Syzygium malaccense (Malay apple) |url=https://wildnet.science-data.qld.gov.au/taxon-detail?taxon_id=13363&tab=0&backQuery=location_search_by%3Darea%26taxon_name%3DSyzygium%2Bmalaccense%26advanced%3Dfalse%26tab%3D0 |access-date=2026-05-30 |website=WildNet |publisher=Queensland Government}}</ref>
In Hawaii, ''S. malaccense'' is called mountain apple or 'Ōhi'a 'ai.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abbott, Isabella Aiona. |title=Lā'au Hawaiʻi: traditional Hawaiian uses of plants |date=1992 |publisher=Bishop Museum Press |isbn=0-930897-62-5 |location=[Honolulu, Hawaii] |page=3 |oclc=26509190}}</ref> In Costa Rica, it is known as {{lang|es|manzana de agua}}.<ref name="GRIN" /> In Jamaica, it is referred to as the Jamaican Apple. It is found mainly in the rainy zones on the Atlantic coast of the country. In Colombia, Puerto Rico, and other Latin American countries it is also found and known as {{lang|es|poma rosa}}. In Venezuela, it is known as {{lang|es|pumalaca}}.<ref name="EPPO">{{Cite web |title=''Syzygium malaccense'' |url=https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/SYZMA |access-date=28 August 2023 |publisher=European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) |archive-date=31 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331055500/https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/SYZMA |url-status=live }}</ref> In Vanuatu is it called {{lang|bi|nakavita}}.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gray|first1=Andrew|title=Pidginise your English!|url=http://www.pentecostisland.net/languages/bislama/guide.htm|accessdate=1 October 2015}}</ref>
==Description== The tree is a medium to large perennial, growing {{convert|5–15|m|ft|frac=2}} tall.<ref name=":0" /> Its leaves are simple, elliptical, or oval-shaped with pointed tips and smooth edges. The leaves are thick and glossy above.<ref name=":0" /> The flowers grow in clusters at the branch ends, displaying bright pink or red colors. The fruit is up to {{Convert|10|cm|frac=4}} long, oval to bell-shaped, green when unripe, and deep red or pink to white with red streaks when ripe. It contains a single large seed inside.<ref name=":0" />
==Distribution and habitat== The species is native to tropical Asia and Australia.<ref name="GRIN" /><ref name="RFK8">{{Cite web |last1=F.A. Zich |last2=B.P.M Hyland |last3=T. Whiffen |last4=R.A. Kerrigan |year=2020 |title=Syzygium malaccense |url=https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/syzygium_malaccense.htm |access-date=5 March 2021 |website=Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants, Edition 8 |publisher=Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) |archive-date=8 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308081116/https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/syzygium_malaccense.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Cultivation== The combination of tree, flowers and fruit has been praised as the most beautiful of its genus.<ref name="morton">{{Cite book |last=Morton |first=Julia |url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/malay_apple.html |title=Fruits of Warm Climates |publisher=Florida Flair Books |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-9610184-1-2 |page=505 |archive-date=2007-02-05 |access-date=2007-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205085514/http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/malay_apple.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Malay apple is a strictly tropical tree and will be damaged by freezing temperatures.<ref name="pin">{{Cite web |title=Malay Apple |url=http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/fruitproducts_m.htm |website=Plant Characteristics |publisher=Pine Island Nursery |access-date=2011-05-26 |archive-date=2017-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523042440/http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/fruitproducts_m.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> It thrives in humid climates with an annual rainfall of {{convert|152|cm|abbr=on}} or more. It can grow at altitudes from sea level up to {{convert|2740|m|ft|abbr=on}}. It flowers in early summer, bearing fruit three months afterward.
When the Polynesians reached the Hawaiian Islands, they brought plants and animals that were important to them. The mountain apple was one of these "canoe plants," arriving 1,000–1,700 years ago.<ref name="Whistler">{{Cite book |last=Whistler |first=W. Arthur |title=Plants of the canoe people: an ethnobotanical voyage through Polynesia |publisher=National Tropical Botanical Garden |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-915809-00-4 |page=241}}</ref> In modern times, it has been introduced throughout the tropics, including many Caribbean countries and territories.<ref name="Dotte-Sarout2016">{{Cite journal |last=Dotte-Sarout |first=Emilie |date=2016 |title=Evidence of forest management and arboriculture from wood charcoal data: an anthracological case study from two New Caledonia Kanak pre-colonial sites |journal=Vegetation History and Archaeobotany |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=195–211 |doi=10.1007/s00334-016-0580-0 |s2cid=132637794}}</ref><ref name="ElevitchSyz">{{Cite book |last1=Whistler |first1=W. Arthur |url=https://raskisimani.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/syzygium-malay-apple.pdf |title=Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands: Their Culture, Environment, and Use |last2=Elevitch |first2=Craig R. |publisher=Permanent Agricultural Resources (PAR) |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-9702544-5-0 |editor-last=Elevitch |editor-first=Craig R. |pages=41–56 |chapter=''Syzygium malaccense'' (Malay apple) (beach hibiscus) |archive-date=2023-10-15 |access-date=2019-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015143544/https://raskisimani.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/syzygium-malay-apple.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BlenchFruits">{{Cite journal |last=Blench |first=Roger |date=2004 |title=Fruits and arboriculture in the Indo-Pacific region |url=https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/viewFile/11869/10496 |journal=Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association |volume=24 |issue=The Taipei Papers (Volume 2) |pages=31–50 |archive-date=2021-03-08 |access-date=2019-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308161216/https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/viewFile/11869/10496 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Uses==
The mountain apple is an edible fruit that can be consumed when raw and ripe. Its taste is bland but refreshing.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2010-05-31 |title=Syzygium malaccense - Mountain Apple, Malaysian Apple, 'Ohi'a 'Ai, Rose Apple, Malay Apple, Pomerac, Otaheite-apple |url=https://wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/1152/syzygium-malaccense-mountain-apple/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=Hawaiian Plants and Tropical Flowers |language=en-US |archive-date=2025-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251214155904/https://wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/1152/syzygium-malaccense-mountain-apple/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1793, Captain William Bligh was commissioned to procure edible fruits from the Pacific Islands for Jamaica, including this species.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hargreaves |first1=Dorothy |url=https://archive.org/details/tropicaltreesofh00doro_0 |title=Tropical Trees of Hawaii |last2=Hargreaves |first2=Bob |publisher=Hargreaves |isbn=978-0-910690-02-7 |location=Kailua, Hawaii |page=[https://archive.org/details/tropicaltreesofh00doro_0/page/45 45] |orig-date=1st Pub. 1964 |url-access=registration}}</ref> He brought back this from Tahiti (called Otaheite at the time).
In Puerto Rico, the Malay apple is used to make wines, in Hawaiʻi, the fruits are consumed the same way a Pacific Northwest apple is eaten.<ref name="Morton 1987 378–381">{{Cite book |last=Morton |first=Julia |url=https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/index.html |title=Fruits of Warm Climates |publisher=Julia F. Morton |year=1987 |isbn=0-9610184-1-0 |pages=378–381 |access-date=March 20, 2019 |archive-date=November 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102135527/https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Indonesians consume the flowers of the tree in salads and in Guyana the skin of the mountain apple is cooked down to make a syrup.<ref name="Morton 1987 378–381"/> A mountain apple has a white fleshy fruit that has a similar texture to a pear but less sweet than an apple. Jam can be prepared by stewing the flesh with brown sugar and ginger.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}
Coffee growers use the species to both divert birds and provide shade.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}
=== Nutrition === Due to the high water content, the Mountain Apple is lower in calories than a Gala apple or a Fuji apple and contains a moderate amount of vitamins and minerals.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} Below is a chart with more nutrition information derived from Malay apples found in Hawaiʻi, El Salvador, and Ghana. {| class="wikitable" !Food Value Per 100g of Edible Portion ! |- |Moisture |90.3–91.6 g |- |Protein |0.5–0.7g |- |Fat |0.1–0.2 g |- |Fiber |0.6–0.8 g |- |Ash |0.26–0.39 g |- |Calcium |5.6–5.9 g |- |Phosphorus |11.6–17.9 g |- |Iron |0.2–0.82 g |- |Carotene |0.003–0.008 mg |- |Vitamin A |3–10 I.U. |- |Thiamine |15–39 mcg |- |Riboflavin |20–39 g |- |Niacin |0.21–0.41 mg |- |Ascorbic Acid |6.5–17.0 mg |}
==Gallery== <gallery> Syzygium malaccense, Tallinn Botanic Garden 03.jpg|Foliage File:Syzygium malaccense at Kadavoor.jpg|Flower buds File:Pommerac01.JPG|Fruits File:Starr 070321-6134 Syzygium malaccense.jpg|Fruits close-up File:Pommerac.whole.jpg|Ripened whole fruit File:Pommerac.cut.jpg|Halved ripe fruit, showing seed </gallery>
{{Commonscat}}
==See also== * Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia
==References== {{Reflist|28em}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q31936}}
malaccense Category:Trees of Australia Category:Trees of Malesia Category:Trees of Papuasia Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Fruit trees Category:Austronesian agriculture