Java plum (Syzygium cumini)

Java plum (Syzygium cumini) is a species in Myrtaceae, a small or medium sized tree, sturdy, leaves grow all year round, woody stem, 10-30 meters in diameter, white, crooked, up to 20 meters high, reverberant up to 90 cm, low branched and titled round or irregular.

S. cumini has thick leaves, seated opposite and stalks 1-3.5 cm long. Strands oval to oval, 5-25 cm long, 2-10 cm wide. Wide base to round, blunt to tapered end and flat edge. Dark green color, shiny on the upper side, slightly smells of turpentine when crushed and young leaves are bright red.





Inflorescences in panicles, appear on the branches, tenuous, have 1-3 branches. Small flowers, sitting tightly, 3-8 buds at each end of the stalk and fragrant. Calyx broad bell-shaped, 4-6 mm high, yellow to purplish. Crown is round and loose, 3 mm, white-gray to bright red and falls easily. Stamens 4-7 mm and pistils 6-7 mm.

The fruit is oval to ovoid in shape, often bent and 1-5 cm long. The skin is thin, smooth, shiny, dark red to blackish purple and sometimes white. Often in large herds.

Flesh is white or yellow-gray to red-purple, odorless, lots of fruit juice, sour to sweet-sour astringent taste. Seeds are oval and 3.5 cm long.

Jamblang grows at an elevation of 500-1800 meters. Rainfall is more than 1000 mm/year with a pronounced dry season. Duwet grows in floodplains and is drought tolerant, various types of infertile soils, wetlands, loams, calcareous soils and sandy soils.

The fruit is eaten fresh or mixed with a little salt and sometimes added sugar, then shaken in a closed container until soft. This fruit can reduce stains on the teeth. Rich in vitamins A and C.

Strong wood, waterproof and insect attack. The bark produces tannins and is used to dye nets. Small chips are used to inhibit the acidity of the wine. The leaves are used as animal feed.

Seeds to treat strikhnina and spleen treatment. Seeds, leaves and bark to reduce diabetes and prevent cataracts. Many contain essential oils, jambosine, organic acids, triterpenoids, resins containing ellagic acid and tannins.

Bark, leaves, fruit and seeds are used as a medicine for diabetes and diarrhea. Reducing heart and liver damage in cancer patients receiving doxorubicin chemotherapy, reducing the incidence of stomach cancer by up to 80% and treating epilepsy.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Subfamily: Myrtoideae
Tribe: Syzygieae
Genus: Syzygium Gaertn. in Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 166 (1788)
Species: Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels in Bull. Bur. Pl. Industr. U.S.D.A. 248: 25 (1912)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Calyptranthes cumini (L.) Pers. in Syn. Pl. 2: 32 (1806)
Eugenia cumini (L.) Druce in Rep. Bot. Exch. Club Soc. Brit. Isles 3: 418 (1913 publ. 1914)
Myrtus cumini L. in Sp. Pl.: 471 (1753)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Calyptranthes capitellata Buch.-Ham. ex Wall. in Numer. List: n.° 3560B (1831)
Calyptranthes caryophyllifolia (Lam.) Willd. in Ann. Bot. (Usteri) 17: 22 (1796)
Calyptranthes cuminodora Stokes in Bot. Mat. Med. 3: 67 (1812)
Calyptranthes jambolana (Lam.) Willd. (1796)
Calyptranthes jambolifera Martyn in P.Miller, Gard. Dict., ed. 9. 1(1): n.° 4 (1796)
Calyptranthes oneillii Lundell in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 64: 554 (1937)
Calyptranthes pedunculata Forsyth f. in Bot. Nomencl.: 227 (1794)
Calyptranthes tenuis Buch.-Ham. ex Wall. (1831)
Caryophyllus corticosus Stokes (1812)
Caryophyllus jambos Stokes (1812)
Eugenia brachiata Roxb. in Fl. Ind., ed. 1832. 2: 488 (1832)
Eugenia calyptrata Roxb. ex Wight & Arn. in Prodr. Fl. Ind. Orient. 1: 329 (1834)
Eugenia caryophyllifolia Lam. in Encycl. 3: 198 (1789)
Eugenia djouat Perr. in Mém. Soc. Linn. Paris 3: 116 (1825)
Eugenia fruticosa (DC.) Roxb. (1832)
Eugenia jambolana Lam. (1789)
Eugenia jambolana var. caryophyllifolia (Lam.) Duthie in J.D.Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 2: 499 (1879)
Eugenia jambolana var. obtusifolia Duthie (1879)
Eugenia jambolifera Roxb. ex Wight & Arn. (1834)
Eugenia obovata Poir. in Encycl., Suppl. 3: 124 (1813)
Eugenia obtusifolia Roxb. (1832)
Eugenia odorata Wight in Ill. Ind. Bot. 2: 16 (1841)
Eugenia tenuis Duthie (1879)
Eugenia tsoi Merr. & Chun in Sunyatsenia 2: 291 (1935)
Jambolifera chinensis Spreng. in Syst. Veg., ed. 16. 2: 216 (1825)
Jambolifera coromandelica Houtt. in Nat. Hist. 2(2): 275 (1774)
Jambolifera pedunculata Houtt. (1774)
Myrtus corticosa Spreng. (1825)
Myrtus obovata (Poir.) Spreng. (1825)
Syzygium brachiatum (Roxb.) Miq. in Fl. Ned. Ind. 1(1): 460 (1855)
Syzygium caryophyllifolium (Lam.) DC. in Prodr. 3: 260 (1828)
Syzygium cumini var. caryophyllifolium (Lam.) K.K.Khanna in Fl. Bihar, Analysis: 199 (2001)
Syzygium cumini var. obtusifolium (Roxb.) K.K.Khanna (2001)
Syzygium cumini var. tsoi (Merr. & Chun) H.T.Chang & R.H.Miao in Acta Bot. Yunnan. 4: 22 (1982)
Syzygium fruticosum DC. (1828)
Syzygium jambolanum (Lam.) DC. (1828)
Syzygium jambolanum var. acuminata O.Berg in Linnaea 27: 339 (1856)
Syzygium jambolanum var. axillare Gamble in Fl. Madras 1: 482 (1919)
Syzygium jambolanum var. elliptica O.Berg (1856)
Syzygium jambolanum var. obovata O.Berg (1856)
Syzygium obovatum (Poir.) DC. (1828)
Syzygium obtusifolium (Roxb.) Kostel. in Allg. Med.-Pharm. Fl. 4: 1532 (1835)
Syzygium pseudojambolana Miq. (1855)
Syzygium tenue (Duthie) N.P.Balakr. in Bull. Bot. Surv. India 22: 175 (1980 publ. 1982)

PUBLICATIONS

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.

Baksh-Comeau, Y., Maharaj, S.S., Adams, C.D., Harris, S.A., Filer, D.L. & Hawthorne, W.D. (2016). An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Trinidad and Tobago with analysis of vegetation types and botanical 'hotspots'. Phytotaxa 250: 1-431.

Balkrishna, A. (2018). Flora of Morni Hills (Research & Possibilities): 1-581. Divya Yoga Mandir Trust.

Berendsohn, W.G., Gruber, A.K. & Monterrosa Salomón, J. (2012). Nova Silva Cusatlantica. Árboles natinos e introducidos de El Salvador. Parte 2: Angiospermae - Familias M a P y Pteridophyta. Englera 29-2: 1-300.

Byng, J.W. & al. (2016). Revision of Eugenia and Syzygium (Myrtaceae) from the Comoro archipelago. Phytotaxa 252: 162-184.

Catarino, L., Sampaio Martins, E., Pinto-Basto, M.F. & Diniz, M.A. (2006). Plantas Vasculares e Briófitos da Guiné-Bissau: 1-298. Instituto de investigação científica tropical, Instituto Português de apoio ao desenvolvimento.

Davidse, G. & al. (eds.) (2009). Flora Mesoamericana 4(1): 1-855. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.

Fischer, E., Rembold, K., Althof, A. & Obholzer, J. (2010). Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Kakamega forest, Western province, Kenya. Journal of East African Natural History 99: 129-226.

Gosline, G., Bidault, E., van der Burgt, X., Cahen, D., Challen, G., Condé, N., Couch, C., Couvreur, T.L.P., Dagallier, L.M.J., Darbyshire, I., Dawson, S., Doré, T.S., Goyder, D., Grall, A., Haba, P., Haba, P., Harris, D., Hind, D.J.N., Jongkind, & al. (2023). A Taxonomically-verified and Vouchered Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Republic of Guinea. Nature, scientific data 10, Article number: 327: [1]-[12].

Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Govaerts, R., Sobral, N., Ashton, P., Barrie, F., Holst, B.K., Landrum, L.L., Matsumoto, K., Fernanda Mazine, F., Nic Lughadha, E., Proença, C. & al. (2008). World Checklist of Myrtaceae: 1-455. Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Hokche, O., Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (eds.) (2008). Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela: 1-859. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela.

Jørgensen, P.M., Nee, M.H. & Beck., S.G. (eds.) (2013). Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de Bolivia. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 127: 1-1741. Missouri Botanical Garden.

Karthigeyan, K., Pandey, R.P. & Mao, A.A. (eds.) (2023). Flora of Andaman and Nicobar Islands 2: 1-689. Botanical Survey of India. Ministry of environment, forest and climate change.

Kotiya, A., Solanki, Y. & Reddy, G.V. (2020). Flora of Rajasthan: 1-769. Rajasthan state biodiversity board.

Leti, M., Hul, S., Fouché, J.-G., Cheng, S.K. & David, B. (2013). Flore photographique du Cambodge: 1-589. Éditions Privat, Toulouse.

MacKee, H.S. (1994). Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie, ed. 2: 1-164. Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris.

Nurtjahya, E. & al. (2026). Flowering Plants of Bangka Island: Native and Introduced. Acta Botanica Hungarica 68: 127-156.

Plunkett, G.M., Ranker, T.A., Sam, C. & Balick, M.J. (2022). Towards a checklist of the vascular flora of Vanuatu. Candollea 77: 105-118.

Singh, V., Singh, P. & Dash, S.S. (eds.) (2021). Flora of India 9: 1-482. Botanical Survey of India.

Soh, W.K. & Parnell, J. (2015). A revision of Syzygium Gaertn. (Myrtaceae) in Indochina (Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam). Adansonia, sér. 3, 37: 179-275.

Sykes, W.R. (2016). Flora of the Cook Islands: 1-973. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hawaii.

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

Welsh, S.L. (1998). Flora Societensis: 1-420. E.P.S. Inc. Utah.

Wu, Z., Raven, P.H. & Hong, D. (eds.) (2007). Flora of China 13: 1-548. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

VERNACULAR NAME

Aceh: Jambee kleng
Afrikaans: Jambolan
Assamese: Kola jamu
Bali: Juwêt, Jujutan
Betawi: Jamblang
Bima: Duwe
Burmese: သပြေ-ဖွူး Thabyay-hpyoo
Chinese (simplified): 乌墨 - 长萼乌墨
Chinese (traditional): 肯氏蒲桃 - 長萼烏墨 - 烏墨 - 海南蒲桃 - 閻浮蒲桃
English: Java plum, Jamblang, Jambolan, Jumblang, Black plum, Jambul, Malabar plum, Jamun
Filipino: Duhat, Lomboi
Finnish: Jaavanjambolaani
Flores: Jambulan
French: Jamblon, Jamelonier
Gayo: Jambu kling, Nunang
German: Jambulbaum
Gowa: Coppeng
Hindi: जामुन - जांभल - जामुन Jamun, Jambhal, Jaamun
Indonesian: Jamblang, Duwet, Jambu Keling
Jaintia: Dieng sohthongum
Java: Jamblang, Duwet, Jambu keling, duwet, Jambu juwat, Jiwat, Jiwat padi
Kannada: Neerale gida, Neril, Neeralu, Neerala, Nerale, Nerale
Khasi: Dieng ramai
Khmer: ព្រីងបាយ Pring bai
Konkani: Jambul
Lao: ວາ Va
Lombok: Juwet, Jowet
Madura: Dhuwak, Dhalas
Makassar: Coppeng
Malayalam: Kaattukamba, Njaaval, Perinjaara, Njara, Perinnaaral, Valiyanjaaval, Njaval
Malaysia: Jambulana, Jambulan
Manipuri: Jam, Gulamchat
Marathi: Jambal, Jambhul, Jambufal
Minang: Jambu kalang
Mizo: Hmuipui, Lenhmui
Nepali: जामुन - काला जामुन - फणीर - जामुन - जमुना Jaamun, Kaalo Jaamun, Phanir, Jaambu, Jamunaa
New Caledonia: Jamelonier
North Sulawesi: Jambulang, Jambulan, Jombulan, Jumblang
Oria: Jamu, Jankori, Chota jamb
Oriya: Kammu koli, Jamakoli, Jamu, Jaanakoree, Chota jam
Palau: Mesekerrak
Pali: Jambu
Pashto: جامن Jaman
Portuguese: Jamelão, Azeitona-roxa, Azeitona-preta
Prakrit: Jambulo, Jammulo
Punjabi: Jamāna
Riau: Jambu koliong
Sanskrit: Jambu, Birkad, Jambuffal, Jambula, Meghamodini
Santali: Kode
Selayar: Rappo
Soppeng: Caloppeng
Spanish: Jambolán
Sulawesi Utara: Jambulang, Jambulan, Jombulan
Sunda: jamblang
Tamil: நவா - கடற்படை - மலை கடற்படை - நாகாய் Nava, Naval, Malai Naval, Nagai
Tangkhul: Chomshathei
Telugu: Neredu, Jambu, Jinna
Ternate: Jambula
Thai: จัมบลัง
Tibetan: Dzam-bu
Urdu: جامن Jaman
Vietnam: Vôi rung, Trâm môc

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