Plant of the day is: Syzygium malaccense or _____ apple

I had the pleasure of running into this plant recently in Jamaica.  My sisters wedding doubled as a great opportunity to learn some tropical plants.

Why the ____ you ask?  Well, it turns out that this plant has been flung far and wide throughout the tropical world.  A native of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, this plant is edible and I'd say fairly tasty.  In Hawaii it is called the mountain apple and was brought over by Polynesians on canoes.  If I'm packing a canoe for a trip across the pacific, it better be the essentials.

Taxonomy:  According to Wiki, it has one of the prettiest flowers of the Myrtaceae or Myrtle family.  I've got to admit, it IS a very striking flower.  It really reminds me of those ever increasing weedy trees we have here in STL the "Mimosa" tree (more accurately a Persian silk tree) or Albizia julibrissin.  The grouping of these flowers is much denser however.  For any plant nerds out there, the Myrtaceae family is very unique in that the phloem (sugar carrying pipes if ya will) of these plants exist both on the inside and outside of the xylem (water carrying pipes), which is a very nifty thing folks.  The stamens of the family are usually very colorful and showy...see below...all that pink is the male stuff.  See, men can wear pink too...  Another notable plant of this family that is VERY important to Jamaica will be featured soon.

What an amazing carpet right??

Range:  It can't freeze, likes about 60 inches of annual rain and can go from sea level to very high elevations.  It's wide presence throughout the world is proof of its adaptability.

Habit/ID:  Fast growing to 12-18m, pyramidal to cylindrical crown.  Leaves are evergreen and opposite on short petioles.  Leaves a bit leathery, dark green, and glossy on top.

Edible:  Yep, edible, I thought it was quite tasty ...allllmost like an apple but not quite as sweet.  Niki did not care much for them.  My mom was a big fan and destroyed one.  I had the pleasure of getting some right of the tree that weren't quite as ripe and then also eating some at the resort which were much sweeter and just different tasting in general.  A real treat to experience how they ripen up.  There is a large seed in the middle...I did not try to eat that.

Whats the fruit look like?  Here ya go.  The fruit, Niki, and my hand winding up for the kill...