Know These?

Wild Malabar plums from a tree in our garden.

Though the fruits of ഞാറ (pronounced njara in Malayalam), Syzgium Jambos, are small, and not very fleshy, they are sweet and medicinal, particularly in treating diabetes.

It is a relative, or perhaps an ancestor of the Malabar plum/Java plum/Black plum (Syzgium Cumini), commonly known as Jamun or Jambul in English, or ഞാവൽ പഴം (pronounced njaval pazham in Malayalam), which is the commercially cultivated variety. The njara seeds and fruits are used in the manufacture of ayurvedic medicines.

Birds love to feast on these berries, but the tree produces such a bumper crop that there are always plenty left over. This attractive evergreen tree has small, dark green leaves, and when it blooms, it is surrounded by a cloud of wild bees for over a week, and their buzzing can be heard from quite a distance. Definitely, a must for your garden!