Syzygium cumini (black plum)
Index
- Pictures
- Identity
- Summary of Invasiveness
- Taxonomic Tree
- Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Description
- Plant Type
- Distribution
- Distribution Table
- History of Introduction and Spread
- Risk of Introduction
- Habitat
- Habitat List
- Biology and Ecology
- Climate
- Latitude/Altitude Ranges
- Air Temperature
- Rainfall
- Rainfall Regime
- Soil Tolerances
- Natural enemies
- Notes on Natural Enemies
- Means of Movement and Dispersal
- Pathway Causes
- Pathway Vectors
- Impact Summary
- Impact
- Threatened Species
- Risk and Impact Factors
- Uses
- Uses List
- Wood Products
- Similarities to Other Species/Conditions
- References
- Contributors
- Distribution Maps
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Top of pageIdentity
Top of pagePreferred Scientific Name
- Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels
Preferred Common Name
- black plum
Other Scientific Names
- Calyptranthes jambolana Willd.
- Eugenia cumini (L.) Druce
- Eugenia djouat Perr.
- Eugenia jambolana Lam.
- Myrtus cumini L.
- Syzygium jambolana Lam.
- Syzygium jambolanum DC.
International Common Names
- English: black plum tree; Indian blackberry; jambolan; jambolan; jamun; java plum; Java plumtree; Malabar plum; Portuguese plum
- Spanish: Ciruelo de Java; Ciruelo jambolan; guayabo pesgua; yambolana
- French: faux pistachier; Jamblon; jambolanier; jamélongue; jamelonguier; jamelonier
- Portuguese: jamelao
Local Common Names
- Brazil: jaláo; jambo; jambol; jambolao; jambolão; jambuláo; jamelao; jameláo
- Cambodia: pring bai; pring das krebey
- Cook Islands: kaika; ka'ika; paramu; pisat; pistaita; pistati; pitati
- Fiji: kavika ni India
- French Polynesia: pistas
- Germany: Jambolanapflaumenbaum; Wachsjambuse
- India: jam; jaman; jambo; jambu; jambudi; jambul; jambura; jamni; jamo; jamu; jamuk; kudijamu; naga; nagai; nairul; nairuri; narala; nareyr; nasedu; nava; naval; navvel; nawar; neeram; neerlu; neredam; neredu; nerlu; nerula; phalani; phalinda; pharenda; phaunda; sambal
- Indonesia: jamblang; juwet
- Indonesia/Java: djoowet; doowet; duwet
- Italy: Giambolana
- Kenya: lushanaku; mzambarau
- Laos: va
- Malaysia: jaman; jambhool; jamblang; jambool; jambu; jambul; jambulan; jambulana; jamelong; jamelongue; jiwat; salam
- Malaysia/Sabah: obah
- Myanmar: thabyay-hpyoo
- Nepal: ban jamun; jambu; kainyu; kalo jamun; kyarnuro; phanir
- Palau: mesegerak; mesekerrak; mesekerrák; mesigerak
- Philippines: duhat; lomboi; lomboy; lunaboy
- Samoa: nonu fi'afi'a
- Suriname: druif; jamoen; koeli
- Tanzania: mzambarau
- Thailand: hakhiphae; ma-ha; wa
- Venezuela: guayabo pésjua; pésjua extranjera
- Vietnam: tram moc; voi rung
EPPO code
- SYZCU (Syzygium cumini)
Trade name
- jaman
- jambolan
- jamun
Summary of Invasiveness
Top of pageS. cumini is a fast-growing tropical and sub-tropical tree preferring moist, riverine habitats, that is valued for its fruit, timber and as an ornamental and as such has been widely introduced from its native South Asia. The sweet fruit is readily consumed by a variety of animals which, along with water, spread seeds widely. It grows rapidly, coppices, and tends to forms monocultures which shade out native vegetation. S. cumini is a Category 1 invasive plant in Florida, USA and a Category 3 invasive plant in South Africa, and is invasive in several Pacific islands, especially in the Cook Islands. In has naturalised in many other countries where introduced and is likely to spread further.
Taxonomic Tree
Top of page- Domain: Eukaryota
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Spermatophyta
- Subphylum: Angiospermae
- Class: Dicotyledonae
- Order: Myrtales
- Family: Lithomyrtus
- Genus: Syzygium
- Species: Syzygium cumini
Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature
Top of pageFormerly part of the genus, Eugenia, S. cumini is now a clearly defined taxa in the genus Syzygium. Commonly known as jambolan it should not be confused with the rose apple (Syzygium jambos).
Syzygium is a genus in the Myrtaceae that includes a number of popular species cultivated for their colourful, edible fleshy fruit. It is a genus of perhaps 1000 species of trees or shrubs native to the Old World tropics. The genus name Syzygium is derived via Latin from the Greek syzygos, meaning yoked together, possibly referring to the paired leaves (Janick and Paull, 2008). Other common names for S. cumini are black plum, damson plum, duhat plum, jamblang, jambolan plum, jamun, Java plum, Malabar plum and Portuguese plum (Janick and Paull, 2008).
Description
Top of pageThe following description is adapted from Morton (1987): S. cumini may reach 30 m tall in India and Oceania or up to 12–15 m in Florida, USA, with a broad crown up to 11 m in diameter and a trunk diameter of 0.6–0.9 m though it usually has a multi-stemmed form branching close to the ground. Bark is rough, cracked, flaking and discoloured on the lower part of the trunk, becoming smooth and light-grey higher up. Evergreen leaves have a turpentine smell, and are opposite, 5–25 cm long, 2.5–10 cm wide, oblong-oval or elliptic, blunt or tapering to a point at the apex; pinkish when young, becoming leathery, glossy, dark-green above, lighter beneath, with a conspicuous, yellowish midrib when mature. Flowers are fragrant and appear in clusters 2.5–10 cm long, each being 1.25 cm wide and 2.5 cm long, with a funnel-shaped calyx and 4–5 united petals, white at first, becoming rose-pink, shedding rapidly to leave only the numerous stamens. Fruit appear in clusters of just a few or 10–40, are round or oblong, often curved, 1.25–5 cm long, turning from green to light-magenta, then dark-purple or nearly black, although a white-fruited form has been reported in Indonesia. The skin is thin, smooth, glossy, and adherent. The pulp is purple or white, very juicy, and normally encloses a single, oblong, green or brown seed, up to 4 cm long, though some fruits have 2–5 seeds tightly compressed within a leathery coat, and some are seedless. The fruit is usually astringent, sometimes unpalatably so, and the flavour varies from acid to fairly sweet.
Distribution
Top of pageThe more restricted native distribution as described by Morton (1987) is accepted in this datasheet, who argued that other countries recorded as native, e.g. Himalayan Asia, south China, South East Asian islands, East Africa, eastern Australia, etc. (USDA-ARS, 2008) are actually due to introduction in pre-history. S. cumini is thus here accepted as only native to India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
Distribution Table
Top of pageThe distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.
Last updated: 29 Apr 2022Continent/Country/Region | Distribution | Last Reported | Origin | First Reported | Invasive | Planted | Reference | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Africa |
||||||||
Algeria | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Ghana | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Kenya | Present | Introduced | Planted | Introduced in pre-history | ||||
Madagascar | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Réunion | Present | Introduced | Naturalized | Naturalised | ||||
Seychelles | Present | Introduced | Naturalized | Naturalised | ||||
South Africa | Present | Introduced | Invasive | |||||
Tanzania | Present | Introduced | Introduced in pre-history | |||||
-Zanzibar Island | Present | Introduced | Introduced in pre-history | |||||
Uganda | Present | Introduced | Recorded as Native but not accepted in this datasheet | |||||
Zimbabwe | Present | Introduced | 1962 | |||||
Asia |
||||||||
Bangladesh | Present | |||||||
Bhutan | Present | Introduced | Recorded as Native but not accepted in this datasheet | |||||
China | Present | |||||||
-Fujian | Present | Introduced | Recorded as Native but not accepted in this datasheet | |||||
-Guangdong | Present | Introduced | Recorded as Native but not accepted in this datasheet | |||||
-Guangxi | Present | Introduced | Recorded as Native but not accepted in this datasheet | |||||
-Hainan | Present | Introduced | Planted | |||||
-Yunnan | Present | Introduced | Recorded as Native but not accepted in this datasheet | |||||
India | Present, Widespread | Native | ||||||
-Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Present | Native | ||||||
-Arunachal Pradesh | Present | |||||||
-Assam | Present | |||||||
-Bihar | Present | |||||||
-Chandigarh | Present | |||||||
-Delhi | Present | |||||||
-Goa | Present | |||||||
-Gujarat | Present | |||||||
-Himachal Pradesh | Present | |||||||
-Jammu and Kashmir | Present | |||||||
-Kerala | Present | |||||||
-Madhya Pradesh | Present | |||||||
-Maharashtra | Present | |||||||
-Manipur | Present | |||||||
-Meghalaya | Present | |||||||
-Mizoram | Present | |||||||
-Nagaland | Present | |||||||
-Odisha | Present | |||||||
-Punjab | Present | |||||||
-Sikkim | Present | |||||||
-Tripura | Present | |||||||
-Uttar Pradesh | Present | |||||||
Indonesia | Present, Widespread | Introduced | Introduced in pre-history | |||||
-Java | Present | Introduced | Planted | Introduced in pre-history | ||||
-Sumatra | Present | |||||||
Israel | Present | Introduced | 1940 | |||||
Laos | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Malaysia | Present | Introduced | Introduced in pre-history | |||||
-Peninsular Malaysia | Present | Introduced | Introduced in pre-history | |||||
Maldives | Present | |||||||
Myanmar | Present | Native | ||||||
Nepal | Present | Introduced | Recorded as Native but not accepted in this datasheet | |||||
Pakistan | Present | |||||||
Philippines | Present | Introduced | Planted | Introduced in pre-history | ||||
Sri Lanka | Present | Native | ||||||
Vietnam | Present | Introduced | ||||||
North America |
||||||||
Antigua and Barbuda | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Bahamas | Present | Introduced | Invasive | |||||
Barbados | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Belize | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Bermuda | Present | Introduced | First reported: early 1900s | |||||
Cuba | Present | Introduced | First reported: early 1900s | |||||
Dominica | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Dominican Republic | Present | Introduced | ||||||
El Salvador | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Grenada | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Guadeloupe | Present | Introduced | First reported: early 1900s | |||||
Guatemala | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Haiti | Present | Introduced | First reported: early 1900s | |||||
Honduras | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Jamaica | Present | Introduced | First reported: early 1900s | |||||
Martinique | Present | Introduced | First reported: early 1900s | |||||
Montserrat | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Netherlands Antilles | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Panama | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Puerto Rico | Present | Introduced | 1920 | |||||
Saint Kitts and Nevis | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Saint Lucia | Present | Introduced | Invasive | Common on Piaye river; potential threat to riparian systems | ||||
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Trinidad and Tobago | Present | Introduced | ||||||
U.S. Virgin Islands | Present | Introduced | ||||||
United States | Present | Present based on regional distribution. | ||||||
-California | Present | Introduced | ||||||
-Florida | Present | Introduced | Invasive | Planted | ||||
-Hawaii | Present, Widespread | Introduced | 1870 | Invasive | ||||
Oceania |
||||||||
Australia | Present | Planted | ||||||
-New South Wales | Present | Introduced | Introduced in pre-history | |||||
-Queensland | Present | Introduced | Introduced in pre-history | |||||
-Victoria | Present, Few occurrences | Introduced | ||||||
-Western Australia | Present, Few occurrences | Introduced | ||||||
Christmas Island | Present | Introduced | May naturalise | |||||
Cook Islands | Present | Introduced | Invasive | Planted | ||||
Fiji | Present | Introduced | Planted | |||||
French Polynesia | Present | Introduced | Invasive | |||||
-Marquesas Islands | Present | Planted | ||||||
Guam | Present | Introduced | ||||||
New Caledonia | Present | Introduced | Invasive | |||||
Niue | Present | Introduced | Planted | |||||
Palau | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Samoa | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Tonga | Present | Introduced | ||||||
South America |
||||||||
Argentina | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Bolivia | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Brazil | Present | Introduced | Planted | |||||
-Paraiba | Present | |||||||
-Rio Grande do Norte | Present | Planted | ||||||
Colombia | Present | Introduced | ||||||
French Guiana | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Guyana | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Paraguay | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Suriname | Present | Introduced | ||||||
Venezuela | Present | Introduced |
History of Introduction and Spread
Top of pageProducing a fruit of local value, S. cumini would have been introduced from early times. In fact, it is thought to have been spread intentionally during pre-history to Bhutan, Nepal, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Java and elsewhere in the East Indies, and to Queensland and New South Wales, also on the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba (Tanzania) and Mombasa and the adjacent coast of Kenya (Morton, 1987). Before 1870 it was established in Hawaii, USA, and by the early 1900s it could be found cultivated in many Caribbean islands, reaching Puerto Rico in 1920 (Morton, 1987). It was also introduced into South America, the USA and Pacific and Indian Ocean islands though dates are not available. It was introduced to Israel in 1940 (Morton, 1987). Other Syzygium species have also been widely introduced and have also become invasive, such as S. jambos in the Caribbean Greater Antilles (Kairo et al., 2003), and S. malaccense. The tree is likely to be much more widespread than is indicated, especially in Africa.
Risk of Introduction
Top of pageS. cumini is a Category 1 invasive plant in Florida, USA (Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2007) and a Category 3 invasive plant in South Africa (SABONET, 2006). As a valuable fruit and forestry tree, it is likely to be further introduced.
Habitat
Top of pageS. cumini prefers moist locations and will tolerate waterlogging thus is commonly found on riverbanks, but it can also survive, but less well, on drier sites once established. In its native range it is commonly cultivated and thus found in and around homesteads and agricultural land. In the Pacific where it has proved most invasive, it is generally a more lowland species such as in Fiji, but may be found up to 700 m Hawaii and has naturalised in inland forests in Fiji (PIER, 2008). It invades coastal bush and savanna in South Africa (SABONET, 2006).
Habitat List
Top of pageCategory | Sub-Category | Habitat | Presence | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Terrestrial | Managed | Cultivated / agricultural land | Present, no further details | Productive/non-natural |
Terrestrial | Managed | Managed forests, plantations and orchards | Present, no further details | Harmful (pest or invasive) |
Terrestrial | Managed | Rail / roadsides | Present, no further details | Productive/non-natural |
Terrestrial | Managed | Urban / peri-urban areas | Present, no further details | Productive/non-natural |
Terrestrial | Natural / Semi-natural | Natural forests | Present, no further details | Harmful (pest or invasive) |
Terrestrial | Natural / Semi-natural | Natural forests | Present, no further details | Natural |
Terrestrial | Natural / Semi-natural | Natural grasslands | Present, no further details | Harmful (pest or invasive) |
Terrestrial | Natural / Semi-natural | Natural grasslands | Present, no further details | Natural |
Terrestrial | Natural / Semi-natural | Riverbanks | Principal habitat | Harmful (pest or invasive) |
Terrestrial | Natural / Semi-natural | Riverbanks | Principal habitat | Natural |
Terrestrial | Natural / Semi-natural | Wetlands | Present, no further details | Harmful (pest or invasive) |
Terrestrial | Natural / Semi-natural | Wetlands | Present, no further details | Natural |
Littoral | Coastal areas | Present, no further details | Harmful (pest or invasive) | |
Littoral | Coastal areas | Present, no further details | Natural |
Biology and Ecology
Top of pageGenetics
There are several common fruit types in India that have a genetic basis and may have resulted from human selection (Morton, 1987). These are ‘ra jaman’,with large oblong, dark-purple or bluish fruits, with pink, sweet pulp and small seeds, and ‘kaatha’,with small acid fruits, and several named cultivars exist, especially in South-East Asia.
Reproductive Biology
It propagates easily from fresh seed, and coppices and resprouts readily. S. cumini begins bearing fruit when 8–10 years old. Seeds lose their viability quickly after maturation.
Physiology and Phenology
Seedlings grow slowly the first year, rapidly thereafter, and may exceeding 3 m in height after 2 years, reaching full size in 40 years. Flowering occurs February-March in Florida, USA, May–August in Sri Lanka, and July–August in Java, Indonesia, and the fruit ripens in April in French Polynesia, May–June in the Philippines, May-July in India and Florida, late summer and autumn in Hawaii, September-October in Java, and November-December in Sri Lanka (Morton, 1987). Dry weather during flowering and fruiting will increase fruit production. Fruits need to be harvested by hand as they ripen, requiring several collections over the season, with a crops of 700 fruits possible from a 5-year-old tree, and the production of a large tree may be overwhelming to the average household.
Environmental Requirements
S. cumini grows best in wet regions with annual rainfall generally in excess of 1000 mm and up to 4000 mm, and even in some of the wettest places in the world (10,000 mm), though it will tolerate drier sites especially when established and on stony and/or gravely soils. It is a tropical species preferring mean annual temperatures around 25–27°C though will grow in sub-tropical areas, being sensitive to frost when young but mature trees have been undamaged by short frosts in southern Florida. Despite its ability to thrive in low, wet areas, the tree also grows well on higher land if well-drained such as loams, marls, sands or oolitic limestone. It grows well up to 1800 m, but above 600 m it does not fruit (Morton, 1987). A modified description of climatic requirements (see climatic data table of this data sheet) was prepared by CSIRO (see Booth and Jovanovic, 2000).
Climate
Top of pageClimate | Status | Description | Remark |
---|---|---|---|
A - Tropical/Megathermal climate | Preferred | Average temp. of coolest month > 18°C, > 1500mm precipitation annually | |
Af - Tropical rainforest climate | Preferred | > 60mm precipitation per month | |
Am - Tropical monsoon climate | Preferred | Tropical monsoon climate ( < 60mm precipitation driest month but > (100 - [total annual precipitation(mm}/25])) | |
As - Tropical savanna climate with dry summer | Preferred | < 60mm precipitation driest month (in summer) and < (100 - [total annual precipitation{mm}/25]) | |
Aw - Tropical wet and dry savanna climate | Preferred | < 60mm precipitation driest month (in winter) and < (100 - [total annual precipitation{mm}/25]) | |
B - Dry (arid and semi-arid) | Tolerated | < 860mm precipitation annually | |
BS - Steppe climate | Tolerated | > 430mm and < 860mm annual precipitation | |
Cf - Warm temperate climate, wet all year | Tolerated | Warm average temp. > 10°C, Cold average temp. > 0°C, wet all year |
Latitude/Altitude Ranges
Top of pageLatitude North (°N) | Latitude South (°S) | Altitude Lower (m) | Altitude Upper (m) |
---|---|---|---|
32 | -30 | 0 | 1800 |
Air Temperature
Top of pageParameter | Lower limit | Upper limit |
---|---|---|
Absolute minimum temperature (ºC) | -2 | |
Mean annual temperature (ºC) | 17 | 34 |
Mean maximum temperature of hottest month (ºC) | 30 | 44 |
Mean minimum temperature of coldest month (ºC) | 5 | 24 |
Rainfall
Top of pageParameter | Lower limit | Upper limit | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Dry season duration | 0 | 4 | number of consecutive months with <40 mm rainfall |
Mean annual rainfall | 600 | 5000 | mm; lower/upper limits |
Soil Tolerances
Top of pageSoil drainage
- free
- impeded
- seasonally waterlogged
Soil reaction
- acid
- neutral
Soil texture
- heavy
- light
- medium
Special soil tolerances
- infertile
Natural enemies
Top of pageNotes on Natural Enemies
Top of pageIn its native India, the whitefly, Dialeurodes eugeniae is common throughout, whereas the most troublesome insects in the south are leaf-eating caterpillars of Carea subtilis, Chrysocraspeda olearia, Phlegetonia delatrbc, Oenospila flavifuscata, Metanastria hyrtaca, and Euproctis fraternal whichmay cause total defoliation. The leafminer, Acrocercops phaeospora, can also be a major problem, Idiocerus atkinsoni sucks the sap of flowering shoots, buds and flower clusters, causing them to fall, and fruits are attacked by fruit flies (often Dacus diversus in India), Diseases recorded as found on S. cumini by inspectors of the Florida Department of Agriculture are: black leaf spot (Asterinella puiggarii); green scurf or algal leaf spot (Cephaleuros virescens); mushroom root rot (Clitocybe tabescens); anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides); and leaf spot caused by Phyllosticta eugeniae. Where invasive in Florida, some trees are very susceptible to scale insects.
Means of Movement and Dispersal
Top of pageSeeds are the most common means of dissemination, and these are known to be consumed and spread by animals, in Hawaii, mynah birds and other frugivorous birds and perhaps occasionally by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) (PIER, 2008). Many other birds and mammals are known to eat the fruit, including jackals and civets, and in Australia they are a favourite food of bats (Morton, 1987). Being a riverine species, seeds are also likely to be dispersed locally by water. Long-distance dispersal has been almost entirely due to intentional introduction as a fruit, timber and ornamental species.
Pathway Causes
Top of pageCause | Notes | Long Distance | Local | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Digestion and excretion | Yes | Morton (1987) | ||
Flooding and other natural disasters | Yes | |||
Forestry | Yes | Morton (1987) | ||
Ornamental purposes | Yes | Morton (1987) |
Impact Summary
Top of pageCategory | Impact |
---|---|
Cultural/amenity | Positive |
Economic/livelihood | Positive |
Environment (generally) | Positive and negative |
Human health | Positive |
Impact
Top of pageEconomic Impact
S. cumini has a positive economic impact via the provision of nutritious fruit, timber and as a traded ornamental. No costs for the control of S. cumini are available.
Social Impact
The tree is venerated in South Asia by Buddhists and Hindus. It is considered sacred to the Hindu gods Krishna and Ganesha and is commonly planted near Hindu temples (Morton, 1987). Where used as a street and ornamental tree, heavy fruiting can lead to masses of fruits littering pavements, roads and gardens, rapidly fermenting producing an unpleasant small and attracting insects, and as such many people want such trees replaced.
Environmental Impact
This large evergreen tree forms a dense cover and when forming a monoculture it can prevent other species from regenerating and growing, and although it is not an aggressive invader of undisturbed forest like the closely related S. jambos, it is known to prevent the reestablishment of native lowland forest.
It can also prevent the growth of desirable forage species.
Threatened Species
Top of pageThreatened Species | Conservation Status | Where Threatened | Mechanism | References | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nototrichium humile (kaala rockwort) | EN (IUCN red list: Endangered); USA ESA listing as endangered species | Hawaii | Competition - smothering | US Fish and Wildlife Service (2008) | |
Peucedanum sandwicense (makou) | NatureServe; USA ESA listing as threatened species | Hawaii | Competition - smothering | US Fish and Wildlife Service (2011a) | |
Scaevola coriacea (dwarf naupaka) | NatureServe; USA ESA listing as endangered species | Hawaii | Competition (unspecified) | US Fish and Wildlife Service (2010b) | |
Schiedea apokremnos (Kauai schiedea) | CR (IUCN red list: Critically endangered); USA ESA listing as endangered species | Hawaii | Competition (unspecified) | US Fish and Wildlife Service (2010c) | |
Schiedea hookeri (sprawling schiedea) | CR (IUCN red list: Critically endangered); USA ESA listing as endangered species | Hawaii | Competition - monopolizing resources; Ecosystem change / habitat alteration | US Fish and Wildlife Service (2011b) | |
Schiedea kealiae (Waianae Range schiedea) | CR (IUCN red list: Critically endangered); USA ESA listing as endangered species | Hawaii | Competition - monopolizing resources | US Fish and Wildlife Service (2010a) | |
Schiedea spergulina var. leiopoda | National list(s); USA ESA listing as endangered species | Hawaii | Competition - monopolizing resources | US Fish and Wildlife Service (2010d) | |
Schiedea spergulina var. spergulina | USA ESA listing as threatened species | Hawaii | Competition - smothering | US Fish and Wildlife Service (1995) |
Risk and Impact Factors
Top of page- Proved invasive outside its native range
- Has a broad native range
- Abundant in its native range
- Highly adaptable to different environments
- Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
- Pioneering in disturbed areas
- Tolerant of shade
- Highly mobile locally
- Long lived
- Fast growing
- Has high reproductive potential
- Reproduces asexually
- Has high genetic variability
- Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
- Modification of nutrient regime
- Modification of successional patterns
- Monoculture formation
- Reduced native biodiversity
- Threat to/ loss of native species
- Competition - monopolizing resources
- Competition - shading
- Competition - smothering
- Competition (unspecified)
- Rapid growth
- Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
Uses
Top of pageIt is a multipurpose tree which is highly valued for its medicinal uses, edible fruits, for fodder, for strong heavy timber and good fuelwood. It is mainly found as a home garden fruit tree, although it is also found wild in secondary forests. It is also a host plant of the tasar silkworm, and a good source of nectar for honeybees. It is a sacred tree to Hindus and Buddhists. Seeds used to be traded for medicinal use until the end of the 1700s, when they were widely exported from India to Malaysia and Polynesia, and from the West Indies to Europe. The tree is grown as shade for coffee in India, and being wind-resistant is sometimes planted in dense rows as a windbreak, and if topped regularly, such plantings form a dense, massive hedge.
S. cumini fruit have a sweet or sub-acid flavour with little astringency, and are eaten raw or made into tarts, sauces and jam. More astringent fruits may be improved by treating them in a similar way to olives, i.e. by soaking them in salt water or leaving fruit stand after pricking them and rubbing them with salt, and all but the most inferior fruits can be made into juice which is similar to grape juice. When extracting juice from cooked fruit, just draining without squeezing will make it less astringent. White-fleshed fruit is high in pectin and makes very stiff jam unless cooking is brief, but the common purple-fleshed fruit yields a richly coloured jam but lacks pectin and requires the addition of a commercial gelling agent, or it must be combined with pectin-rich fruits such as unripe or sour guavas, or ketembillas. Good quality juice is excellent for sherbet, syrup and ‘squash’. In India, the latter is made into a bottled drink prepared by cooking crushed fruits and pressing out the juice, then adding sugar, water, citric acid and sodium benzoate. In Goa, India and the Philippines, S. cumini fruit are made into a Port-like wine and distilled liquors, brandy and ‘jambava’. Vinegar, extensively made throughout India, has an attractive clear purple colour with a pleasant aroma and mild flavour.
Flowers are abundant and the tree has a high value in apiculture, for example in the Western Ghats, India at elevations above 1000 m with an annual rainfall of 750-1000 mm where they are the main source for Apis dorsata. The honey is of fine quality but ferments in a few months unless treated. The leaves have served as fodder for livestock and as food for tassar silkworms in India, having approximately 9% crude protein. In Zanzibar and Pemba, Tanzania, people use young shoots for cleaning their teeth. An essential oil distilled from leaves is used to scent soap and is blended with other materials in making inexpensive perfume. Bark yields durable brown dyes of various shades depending on the mordant and the strength of the extract, and contains 8–19% tannin being much used in tanning leather and preserving fishing nets. The heartwood is red, reddish-grey or brownish-grey, with close, straight grain, but is hard and difficult to work. It is durable in water and resistant to borers and termites though tends to warp slightly. In India, it is commonly used for beams and rafters, posts, bridges, boats, oars, masts, troughs, well-lining, agricultural implements, carts, solid cart wheels, railway sleepers and the bottoms of railroad cars, and is sometimes made into furniture but has no special qualities. It is a fairly satisfactory fuel. S. cumini has received far more recognition in folk medicine and in the pharmaceutical trade than for any other use. Medicinally, the fruit is stated to be astringent, stomachic, carminative, anti-scorbutic and diuretic, and is used to treat acute diarrhoea, dysentery, dyspepsia, asthma, bronchitis, enlargement of the spleen, urine retention, for sore throat, mouth ulcers, spongy gums, and stomatitis, to treat ringworm of the scalp, burns, as an enema, diabetes mellitus or glycosuiria, as seed extracts are reported to lower blood pressure by 34.6% and this action is attributed to the ellagic acid content.
Uses List
Top of pageAnimal feed, fodder, forage
- Fodder/animal feed
- Forage
- Invertebrate food
Environmental
- Agroforestry
- Amenity
- Ornamental
- Revegetation
- Shade and shelter
- Windbreak
Fuels
- Fuelwood
General
- Ornamental
Human food and beverage
- Beverage base
- Fruits
- Honey/honey flora
Materials
- Bark products
- Dye/tanning
- Wood/timber
Medicinal, pharmaceutical
- Source of medicine/pharmaceutical
- Traditional/folklore
Wood Products
Top of pageContainers
- Crates
- Pallets
Furniture
Railway sleepers
Roundwood
- Pit props
- Posts
Sawn or hewn building timbers
- Beams
- Carpentry/joinery (exterior/interior)
- Exterior fittings
- Fences
- For heavy construction
- For light construction
Wood-based materials
- Plywood
Woodware
- Marquetry
- Wood carvings
Similarities to Other Species/Conditions
Top of pageSyzygium species may appear similar to the untrained eye, and two other species are noted as invasive, S. jambos and S. malaccense, though may be separated by fruit colour; the fruits of S. cumini being purplish-black when ripe whereas those of S. jambos are creamy yellow, tinged with pink. S. cumini can also be confused with the South African S. guineense; but is distinguished by its longer leaves (up to 150 mm) with many closely spaced lateral veins, abruptly tapering leaf apex, oval to pear-shaped fruits, and much-branched sub-terminal inflorescence, usually arising from old leaf scars.
References
Top of pageBalakrishna P, Raman A, Raman KJ, 1991. On the morphogenesis and dynamics of growth of the leaf galls of Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels (Myrtaceae) induced by Trioza jambolanae Crawford (Insecta: Homoptera: Psylloidea). Phytomorphology, 41(1/2):109-113
Booth TH, Jovanovic T, 2000. Improving descriptions of climatic requirements in the CABI Forestry Compendium. A report for the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. CSIRO - Forestry and Forest Products, Client Report No. 758
Brandis D, 1906. Indian Trees. London, UK: Archibald Constable & Co Ltd
CABI, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CABI
Chaturvedi AN, 1984. Assessment of biomass production. Indian Forester, 110(8):726-738
Clarke WC, Thaman, RR, eds, 1993. Agroforestry in the Pacific Islands: systems for sustainability. Tokyo, Japan; United Nations University Press: x + 297 pp
Devarnavadagi SB, Murthy BG, 1995. Performance of different tree species on eroded soils of northern dry zone of Karnataka. Advances in Agricultural Research in India, 4: 73-77
Graveson R, 2012. The Plants of Saint Lucia (in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean). The Plants of Saint Lucia (in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean). http://www.saintlucianplants.com
Guimaraes DP, Da Fonseca CEL, 1990. Consideracoes preliminares sobre o uso de quebra-ventos nos cerrados
Hocking D, ed. , 1993. Trees for drylands. New Delhi, India: Oxford and IBH
Jackson JK, 1987. Manual of afforestation in Nepal. Nepal - UK Forestry Research Project
Kelkar SM, Kaklij GS, 1997. A simple two-step purification of antidiabetic compounds from Eugenia jambolana fruit-pulp: proteolytic resistance and other properties. Phytomedicine 3 (1996), pp. 353–359
Khan SN, Misra BM, 1996. Botrytis blight of Syzygium cumini Skeels in India
Little EL, Jr. , 1983. Common Fuelwood Crops
Luna RK, 1996. Plantation trees. Delhi, India: International Book Distributors
Madalageri MB, Patil VS, Nalawadi UG, 1991. Propagation of jamun [Syzygium cumini] by soft wood wedge grafting. Myforest, 27(2):176-178; 1 unpaginated pl.; 6 ref
Negi SS, 1992. Forests and Forestry in SAARC countries
Pande DC, Mathur RS, 1971. Regional volume tables for jamun (Syzygium gumini [cumini], Linn) (for Gorakpur and Gonda Forest Divisions, Eastern Circle, U.P.). Bulletin, Forest Department, Uttar Pradesh, recd. 1980, No. 35, ii + 30 pp.; 2 tab. Usually cited as U.P. Forest Bulletin
Rai MK, 1986. New host records of Pestalotiopsis from India. Indian Botanical Reporter, 5(1):98
Rai SN, 1978. Regional volume table for Syzygium cumini (Linn). Skeel. (Data from Karnataka). Myforest, September, 137-140; 1 tab.; 1 ref
Roy PK, Rahman M, Roy SK, 1996. Mass propagation of Syzygium cuminii from selected elite trees
Sharif N, 2017. Jamun (production technology). In: Pakistan: Pakissan.com, http://www.pakissan.com/english/allabout/horticulture/jamun.shtml
Singh G., Dagar JC, Singh NT, 1997. Growing fruit trees in highly alkali soils - a case study.
Su Juan, Wang DeZhen, Fu ShiShen, 1994. Study on phenology of some tree species grown in the tropica
Tewari SK, Devendra Singh , Nainwal RC, 2017. The genus Syzygium: Syzygium cumini and other underutilized species (ed. Nair, K. N.) , Boca Raton, Florida, USA, CRC Press.216-236.
Troup RS, Joshi HB, 1984. Troup's The Silviculture of Indian Trees. Volume V. Delhi, India: Controller of Publications
Distribution References
CABI, 2005. Forestry Compendium. In: Forestry Compendium, Wallingford, UK: CABI.
CABI, Undated. CABI Compendium: Status inferred from regional distribution. Wallingford, UK: CABI
CABI, Undated a. CABI Compendium: Status as determined by CABI editor. Wallingford, UK: CABI
Graveson R, 2012. The Plants of Saint Lucia (in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean). In: The Plants of Saint Lucia (in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean), http://www.saintlucianplants.com
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