Common Name: Malay Apple

General Information

Malay apple is an evergreen tree with a spreading but cone-shaped crown; it usually grows 5 - 20 metres tall, though specimens to 30 metres have been recorded from New Guinea[, , ]. The straight, cylindrical bole can be 20 - 45cm in diameter (to 130cm in New Guinea), often branching from near the ground though sometimes free of branches for 10 - 15 metres, with buttresses at the base[, ].
The edible fruit is fairly well liked, it is harvested from the wild and consumed locally[]. The tree also sometimes grows large enough to produce a timber that is traded. The tree is sometimes cultivated, usually in home gardens, both as an ornamental and for its edible fruit in the tropics[, , ]. When in flower this is one of the most delightful of trees, the rose-purple petals falling in vast numbers and covering the ground with a lovely carpet of bright and handsome colour[]. Although not grown commercially, the fruit is often sold in local markets[]. It is believed that the tree has the prospect for greater commercial exploitation[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Southeast Asia - Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, New Guinea, Bismark Islands, northern Australia.

Habitat

A canopy or sub-canopy tree in rain forests in the lower mountain region[, ]. Moist, coastal areas[]. Common in villages, lowland secondary forests, and cultivated valleys from near sea-level up to 1,000 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	15.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the fairly moist, lowland tropics, where it can also be found at elevations up to 1,200 metres[]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 16 - 33°c[]. The plant is intolerant of frost[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 1,600mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 2,200mm[]. Plants can tolerate a dry season, but do best in areas with year-round rainfall[].
Prefers a rich, well-drained soil and a position in full sun[]. Succeeds in the poor, coralline soils of low-lying islands[]. Dislikes very acid soils[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 8[].
Plants take from 4 - 5 years to flower from seed, with maximum yields being achieved after about 10 years[].
Plants can fruit up to three times a year, flowering seeming to be initiated by a period of wet weather following a dry spell[]. In some years, fruiting can take place almost continually[].
Yields of 60 - 80 kilos have been recorded[].
There are some named forms[, ].
Young trees transplant very easily[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw, stewed with cloves, or combined with other fruits in pies, tarts, custards etc[, ]. Ripe fruits are crunchy, crisp and very juicy, with a thin skin and a mild, refreshing, subacid flavour[, , ]. Deliciously refreshing on a hot day[]. Rich in vitamins[]. The fruit is up to 20mm x 26mm[]. The fruit is a dark red, purplish-yellow or yellow-white ellipsoid berry, 5 - 8cm in diameter, containing a single, large seed[, ].


Flowers - preserved in syrup or eaten in salads[]. The slightly sour stamens are added to salads[].

Young leaves and shoots, whilst still red, are eaten raw with rice[, ].

Medicinal

Various parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine, the leaves and bark have in fact been shown to possess antibiotic activity, the bark is astringent, whilst the plant is also weakly hypoglycaemic[, ]. The plant contains tannins and is astringent[]. In particular the bark, leaves and roots of Malay apple are used against different ailments[].

An infusion of the bark is used to treat tuberculosis, mouth infections, stomach ache and abdominal ailments[]. The bark is used to cure mouth sores in children[]. It is also used as a purgative and to treat venereal diseases[].

The leaves are used to treat red eyes[]. A decoction of the leaves is used as a wash on skin infections[].

Other conditions treated with this plant include cough; yellow urine and bad appetite; as a remedy for deep bone pains, diabetes, gonorrhoea, swollen stomach after childbirth, sore throat, thrush, bronchitis and to relieve constipation[].

Other Uses

A reddish brown dye for making patterns on tapa bark cloth, can be processed from the bark and the root[].

The reddish to light brown wood is hard, tough, very heavy, but tending to warp, and difficult to work. It is used locally for construction[, , ]. The wood is traditionally used in Hawaii to build beams for their hale, house and for fashioning bowls and poi-boards[].

Propagation

Seed - needs to be sown fresh from the fruit because it has a very limited viability[]. Give light shade to the seedlings when young[].
Air layering is the most common vegetative method of reproduction[].
Cuttings.
Grafting or budding, but only use seedlings of the same species[].

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