FRUITS OF THE MYRTLE FAMILY 305 



synonymy is rather extensive; Syzygium jambolana, DC., 

 Syzygium Cumini, Skeels, and Eugenia Cumini, Druce, are 

 names under which it is sometimes listed. 



Rose-apple (Eugenia Jambos, L.) (Plate XVI). 



As an ornamental tree, the rose-apple is of value for all tropical 

 and subtropical regions. As a fruit it is beautiful and interest- 

 ing, but is not much used except for making preserves. 



The tree grows to 25 or 30 feet in height, and is shapely and 

 attractive in appearance. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, 

 acuminate, 5 to 8 inches long, thick and glossy, with the new 

 growth wine-colored. The flowers are produced upon the young 

 branchlets in short terminal racemes. They are greenish white 

 in color and have a conspicuous tuft of long stamens which 

 almost hide the other floral parts from view. The calyx-tube 

 is turbinate, and the corolla composed of four obovate concave 

 petals. The fruit is round or oval, 1 to 2 inches in length, 

 and crowned at the apex with the calyx-segments. In color 

 it is whitish green to apricot-yellow ; it is perfumed with the 

 odor of the rose, and is attractive in appearance. The flesh 

 is crisp, juicy, and sweet. The single, round seed (or some- 

 times two hemispherical ones) is loose in the large hollow 

 seed-cavity. 



The rose-apple is indigenous in the East Indies, whence 

 it has been carried to all parts of the tropics. It has become 

 naturalized in the West Indies, in Hawaii, and in other regions. 

 In India, where it is very abundant, it is usually known as 

 gulab-jaman (rose jaman). Yule and Burnell state that the 

 Sanskrit name jambu is applied in the Malay language, with 

 distinguishing adjectives, to several species of Eugenia. Jambo 

 and yambo are sometimes used in English for the rose-apple. 

 In French it is called pomme-rose, in Spanish poma-rosa. Bo- 

 tanically it is sometimes listed as Jambosa mdgaris, DC., 

 sometimes as Caryophyllus Jambos, Stokes. 



