The evergreen jamun plant is originally from Indonesia and India; it now grows abundantly in Suriname.
An evergreen tropical tree, 50 to 100 ft. tall, with oblong opposite leaves that are smooth, glossy and having a terpentine smell.
The bark is scaly gray and the trunk forks into multiple trunks about 3 - 5' from the ground.
Jamun has fragrant white flowers in branched clusters at stem tips and purplish-black oval edible berries.
The juicy fruit-pulp contains resin, gallic acid and tannin; it tastes usually from acid to fairly sweet.
The somewhat astrigent, jamun fruit can be utilized for juice.
This berry has only one seed. Although a tropical tree, it grows easy in sub-tropical climates and can also be found in Florida, USA.
Jambolan starts bearing fruit in 4 - 7 years.
Medicinal applications: all parts of the java plum can be used medicinally and it has a long tradition in alternative medicine.
In India the bark is used for anemia, the bark and seed for diabetes which reduce the blood sugar level quickly, the fruit for dysentery, leaves juice for gingivitis (bleeding gums).
In the Phillipines and Suriname wine is made from the fermented fruit.