Syzygium grande or sea apple is a tall tree that can reach 30 m. The trees can be found along the coastal line of Southeast Asia. Its leaves are large with dark green color. It is a tree and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome[2]. It is usually grown in elevation range between 770- 2000 m.

Syzygium grande
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Syzygium
Species:
S. grande
Binomial name
Syzygium grande
(Wight) Walp.
Synonyms[1]
  • Eugenia cymosa Roxb. nom. illeg.
  • Eugenia grandis Wight
  • Eugenia laosensis Gagnep.
  • Eugenia montana Wight nom. illeg.
  • Jambosa firma Blume
  • Jambosa grandis (Wight) Blume
  • Syzygium firmum (Blume) Thwaites
  • Syzygium gadgilii M.R.Almeida nom. illeg.
  • Syzygium laosense (Gagnep.) Merr. & L.M.Perry
  • Syzygium megalophyllum Merr. & L.M.Perry
  • Syzygium montanum Thwaites & Hook.f.
  • Syzygium tamilnadensis Rathakr. & V.Chithra nom. illeg.

Description

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The leaves are simple, opposite, and arranged in a decussate pattern. The petiole measures up to 1.5 cm in length. The lamina is 6–13 cm long and 3–8 cm wide, with an elliptic-lanceolate or obovate shape and dotted with pellucid glands. The apex is obtuse, and the leaves have approximately 12 pairs of secondary nerves[3]. The flowers are small, white, and arranged in terminal corymbose cymes. The fruit is globose, brownish-red, with a diameter of 1 cm, and has a persistent calyx like other Syzygium species[3].

This species appears to exhibit two distinct leaf forms based on elevation. At lower elevations, up to 1200 m in Kodagu and Wayanad, the leaves are oblong-elliptic or lanceolate. In contrast, at higher elevations between 1500 and 2200 m in the shola forests of the Nilgiris and Meghamalai Hills, the leaves are more elliptic to orbicular and glaucous[3].

 
Young fruits

References

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  1. ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Syzygium montanum Gamble | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-11-29.
  3. ^ a b c Page, Navendu (2017). Endemic Woody Plants of the Western Ghats. Bangalore: Trail Blazer Printers and Publishers. ISBN 978-93-5279-072-2.