Syzygium jambos

Tuiwawa, S. H., Craven, L. A., Sam, C. & Crisp, M. D., 2013, The genus Syzygium (Myrtaceae) in Vanuatu, Blumea 58 (1), pp. 53-67 : 60

8. Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston

Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston (1931) 115. — Eugenia jambos L. (1753) 470. — Typus (fide Fawcett & Rendle 1926): Herb. Hermann 2: 20, No. 188 (lecto BM n.v.), India.

Tree up to 10 m tall. Vegetative branchlets quadrangular without wing, c. 4 mm diam; bark dull, striated to longitudinally cracked, not glandular or verrucose, flaking. Leaf lamina up to 14 by 3.4 cm, lanceolate; base symmetric sometimes oblique, cuneate; apex acute, acumen flat; margin flat; coriaceous; drying brown-greenish above; primary vein (midrib) c. 1 mm wide; secondary veins open, c. 14 each side of primary vein, c. 8 mm apart; intramarginal vein strongly arched, up to 2.5 mm from the margin at the lamina midpoint; secondary intramarginal vein weakly arched; tertiary intramarginal vein absent; oil dots present, not visible to the unaided eye in transmitted light, small, sparse. Petiole 4–6 by 1.5 mm, adaxially slightly grooved. Inflorescence terminal, simple dichasia, up to 2.5 by 4 cm, solitary flower; hypopodium c. 3–7 mm long; main inflorescence axis c. 2 mm wide, angled, dull, smooth; ebracteate. Hypanthium stipitate, stipe c. 3 mm long; campanulate, c. 13 by 10 mm, glossy, dotted glands not visible, striate. Sepals 4, c. 4 by 11 mm, semicircular, persistent, free. Petals 4, not decidious, not coherent, semicircular, 12– 20 by 10–18 mm, not visibly gland dotted, margin entire. Stamens many, more than 50, outermost stamen c. 4 cm, filaments free, anther sacs not long narrowly elliptic. Style c. 5 cm long. Fruit white or yellowish, smooth, nearly round to oval, up to 5 cm wide.

Distribution & Ecology — Vanuatu (Shefa province: Efate). Syzygium jambos has naturalised in Vanuatu and is also a widely cultivated species in the world.

Vernacular name — Unknown.

Uses — Unknown.

Note — The vegetative features of S. jambos can be mistaken for S. gracilipes . In S. jambos , the leaves are smaller, c. 14 by 3 cm, the secondary veins are 8 mm apart and there are 14 of them on each side of the primary vein. For S. gracilipes , the leaves are longer, c. 18 by 6 cm, the secondary veins are 1.8 cm apart and there are 13 of them on each side of the primary vein.