Syzygium cumini

Syzygium cumini

Know our Plant

Systematic Classification:

Division   : Angiospermae 
Class      : Dicotyledons
Order      : Myrtales
Family     : Myrtaceae
Genus      : Syzygium
Species    : cumini

Common Name:

Malabar plum, Java plum, Black plum, Jamun , Jambolan.

General Information:

Syzygium cumini is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant. It is native to the Indian Subcontinent, adjoining regions of Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and the Andaman Islands. It can reach heights of up to 30 metres (98 ft) and can live more than 100 years A rapidly growing plant, it is considered an invasive species in many world regions. The name of the fruit: black plum, is sometimes mistranslated as blackberry, which is a different fruit in an unrelated order. It has been introduced to areas including islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
It is a fast-growing, attractive, compact, evergreen shrub or tree with a dense, frondose crown. It usually grows 10 – 15 metres tall, but can reach a height of up to 35 metres. The straight trunk is short, stout, and low branched, usually around 40 – 100cm in diameter.

Economic Importance:

  • Both the seeds and the fruit are diuretic and have important carminative and astringent properties. The seeds also reduce blood sugar levels and are useful in the treatment of diabetes.
  • The seeds and bark are well known in the Far East for the treatment of dysentery and in the control of hyperglycaemia and glycosuria in diabetic patients.The juice of the bark is considered good for treating wounds and enlargement of the spleen. The bark is astringent. An infusion is used to treat irregular menstruation, diarrhoea, dysentery, children’s thrush etc. The bark is used as a gargle to strengthen gums, treat mouth ulcers etc.
  • The ripe fruit is astringent and is used as an effective treatment for diabetes. Fruits are used as a relief for colic and to treat diarrhoea.
  • An infusion of the leaves is used in the treatment of diabetes and diarrhoea.
  • The wood yields a sulphate pulp that has medicinal uses.
  • The roots are sometimes used as a treatment for epilepsy.