Malay Apple

Table of contents:

Video: Malay Apple

Video: Malay Apple
Video: OTEHEITE APPLE: Trying a Unique Fruit Species in Jamaica (Malay Apple) - Weird Fruit Explorer 2024, April
Malay Apple
Malay Apple
Anonim
Image
Image

Malay apple (Latin Syzygium malaccense) - a fruit crop belonging to the Myrtle family and often called yambose.

Description

The Malay apple is a slow-growing evergreen fruit tree with magnificent pyramidal crowns. Typically, mature trees range in height from twelve to eighteen meters. The leathery dark green leaves of the Malay apple are elliptical-lanceolate. They are glossy from above and light green from below. Moreover, all young leaves can boast of a pleasant reddish color. The width of the leaves ranges from nine to twenty centimeters, and the length ranges from fifteen to forty-five centimeters.

As for the flowers of the Malay apple, they can have a wide variety of shades: whitish, yellow, dark red or pinkish-purple. Their diameter most often varies from five to seven and a half centimeters, and they all fold into bizarre clusters, located either on mature branches or on the tops of the trunks. Among other things, these flowers boast a pleasant subtle scent.

The bell-shaped or oblong fruits of the Malay apple grow from five to ten centimeters in length and from two and a half to seven and a half centimeters in width. By the way, in shape they are somewhat reminiscent of well-known pears. From above, each fruit is covered with a waxy skin, which can be either dark red or pink-red, or almost white, with small reddish or pinkish stripes. The flesh of the Malay apple is crispy and very juicy. It is dyed white and boasts a surprisingly sweet, enchanting scent. Almost always, one or two large brown seeds can be found in the center of the fruit, but from time to time there are also fruits without seeds at all.

Where grows

Malaysia is considered the homeland of the Malay apple, but this culture has been grown since ancient times on a number of Pacific islands, as well as on the territory of India and some other states of Southeast Asia. In the sixteenth century, the enterprising Portuguese brought the Malay apple to distant East Africa, and already in 1793 it appeared in Jamaica, from which it subsequently began to actively spread to the countries of South, Central and North America.

Application

The fruits of this interesting culture can be eaten fresh - they are very tasty and healthy. And local peoples often stew them with cloves or other very diverse spices. Unripe fruits are also used: they make excellent marinades and the most delicate jelly. In a number of countries (in Puerto Rico, etc.) excellent red or white wines are also made from Malay apples. And Indonesians actively add flowers of this culture to salads or boil them with pleasure in a special syrup.

This fruit boasts an abundance of substances useful for the human body. It is actively used to treat a wide variety of respiratory diseases, lower cholesterol levels and normalize blood pressure.

A decoction of the roots of an unusual plant is an excellent diuretic, and a decoction of its bark is widely used for indigestion and diarrhea. In addition, the decoction of the roots also boasts a pronounced diuretic effect, which makes it an indispensable assistant in the treatment of infectious ailments of the genitourinary system, as well as diseases of the cardiovascular system and kidneys. And freshly squeezed fruit juice is actively used externally, as it helps to get rid of a number of skin ailments.

These fruits are especially appreciated as a medicine in Brazil - in this sunny country, highly effective drugs are made from them against diabetes, headache, cough, pulmonary catarrh, constipation, etc.

And in some states, the Malay apple is considered a cult plant - its flowers are an integral part of the rituals of sacrifice to the gods, and idols are carved from its wood.

Contraindications

When eating a Malay apple, it does not hurt to focus on individual intolerance, since some of the substances it contains can lead to allergies.

Recommended: