This member of the Myrtaceae is of wider interest for its medicinal applications than for its edible fruit. Botanically it is Syzygium cumini Skeels (syns. S. jambolanum DC., Eugenia cumini Druce, E. jambolana Lam., E. djouat Perr., Myrtus cumini L.,  Calyptranthes jambolana Willd.). Among its many colloquial names are Java plum, Portuguese plum, Malabar plum, black plum, purple plum, and, in Jamaica, damson plum; also Indian blackberry. In India and Malaya it is variously known as jaman, jambu, jambul, jambool, jambhool, jamelong, jamelongue, jamblang, jiwat, salam, or koriang. In Thailand, it is wa, or ma-ha; in Laos, va; Cambodia, pring bai or pring das krebey; in Vietnam, voi rung; in the Philippines, duat, duhat, lomboy, lunaboy or other dialectal appelations; in Java, djoowet, or doowet. In Venezuela, local names are pésjua extranjera or guayabo pésjua; in Surinam, koeli, jamoen, or druif (Dutch for "grape"); in Brazil, jambuláo, jaláo, jameláo or jambol.

The fruit, in clusters of just a few or 10 to 40, is round or oblong, often curved; 1/2 to 2 in (1.25-5 m) long, and usually turns from green to light-magenta, then dark-purple or nearly black as it ripens. A white-fruited form has been reported in Indonesia. The skin is thin, smooth, glossy, and adherent. The pulp is purple or white, very juicy, and normally encloses a single, oblong, green or brown seed, up to 1 1/2 in (4 cm) in length, though some fruits have 2 to 5 seeds tightly compressed within a leathery coat, and some are seedless. The fruit is usually astringent, sometimes unpalatably so, and the flavor varies from acid to fairly sweet.

The jambolan is native in India, Burma, Ceylon and the Andaman Islands. It was long ago introduced into and became naturalized in Malaya. In southern Asia, the tree is venerated by Buddhists, and it is commonly planted near Hindu temples because it is considered sacred to Krishna. The leaves and fruits are employed in worshipping the elephant-headed god, Ganesha or Vinaijaka, the personification of "Pravana" or "Om", the apex of Hindu religion and philosophy. The tree is thought to be of prehistoric introduction into the Philippines where it is widely planted and naturalized, as it is in Java and elsewhere in the East Indies, and in Queensland and New South Wales, also on the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba and Mombasa and adjacent coast of Kenya. In Ghana, it is found only in gardens. Introduced into Israel perhaps about 1940, it grows
vigorously there but bears scantily, the fruit is considered valueless but the tree is valued as an ornamental and for forestry in
humid zones. It is grown to some extent in Algiers.

By 1870, it had become established in Hawaii and, because of seed dispersal by mynah birds, it occurs in a semiwild state on all the Hawaiian islands in moist areas below 2,000 ft (600 in). There are vigorous efforts to exterminate it with herbicides because it shades out desirable forage plants. It is planted in most of the inhabited valleys in the Marquesas. It was in cultivation in Bermuda, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, the French Islands of the Lesser Antilles and Trinidad in the early 20th Century; was introduced into Puerto Rico in 1920; but still has remained little-known in the Caribbean region. At the Lancetilla Experimental Garden at Tela, Honduras, it grows and fruits well. It is seldom planted elsewhere in tropical America but is occasionally seen in Guatemala, Belize, Surinam, Venezuela and Brazil.

The Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture received jambolan seeds from the Philippines in
1911, from Java in 1912, from Zanzibar and again from the Philippines in 1920. The tree flourishes in California, especially in the vicinity of Santa Barbara, though the climate is not congenial for production or ripening of fruit. In southern Florida, the tree was rather commonly planted in the past. Here, as in Hawaii, fruiting is heavy, only a small amount of the crop has been utilized in home preserving. The jambolan has lost popularity, as it has in Malaya where it used to be frequently grown in gardens. Heavy crops litter streets, sidewalks and lawns, attracting insects, rapidly fermenting and creating a foul atmosphere. People are eager to have the trees cut down. Where conditions favor spontaneous growth, the seedlings become a nuisance, as well.

The jambolan tree grows well from sea-level to 6,000 ft (1,800 m) but, above 2,000 ft (600 m) it does not fruit but can be grown for its timber. It develops most luxuriantly in regions of heavy rainfall, as much as 400 in (1,000 cm) annually. It prospers on river banks and has been known to withstand prolonged flooding. Yet it is tolerant of drought after it has made some growth. Dry weather is desirable during the flowering and fruiting periods. It is sensitive to frost when young but mature trees have been undamaged by brief below-freezing temperatures in southern Florida.

Jambolan seeds lose viability quickly. They are the most common means of dissemination, are sown during the rainy season in
India, and germinate in approximately 2 weeks. Semi-hardwood cuttings, treated with growth-promoting hormones have given 20% success and have grown well. Budding onto seedlings of the same species has also been successful. Veneer-grafting of scions from the spring flush has yielded 31% survivors. The modified Forkert method of budding may be more feasible. When a small-fruited, seedless variety in the Philippines was budded onto a seeded stock, the scion produced large fruits, some with seeds and some without. Approach-grafting and inarching are also practiced in India. Air-layers treated with 500 ppm indolebutyric acid have rooted well in the spring (60% of them) but have died in containers in the summer.

Seedlings grow slowly the first year, rapidly thereafter, and may reach 12 ft (3.65 m) in 2 years, and begin bearing in 8 to 10 years. Grafted trees bear in 4 to 7 years. No particular cultural attention seems to be required, apart from frost protection when young and control measures for insect infestations. In India, organic fertilizer is applied after harvest but withheld in advance of flowering and fruiting to assure a good crop. If a tree does not bear heavily, it may be girdled or root-pruned to slow down vegetative growth.

The tree is grown as shade for coffee in India. It is wind-resistant and sometimes is closely planted in rows as a windbreak. If
topped regularly, such plantings form a dense, massive hedge. Trees are set 20 ft (6 m) apart in a windbreak; 40 ft (12 m) apart along roadsides and avenues.  The fruit is in season in the Marquesas in April; in the Philippines, from mid-May to mid-June. In Hawaii, the crop ripens in late summer and fall. Flowering occurs in Java in July and August and the fruits ripen in September and October. In Ceylon, the tree blooms from May to August and the fruit is harvested in November and December. The main fruiting season in India and southern Florida (where the tree blooms principally in February and March) extends through late May, June and July. Small second crops from late blooms have been observed in October. Individual trees may habitually bear later than others. In India, the fruits are harvested by hand as they ripen and this requires several pickings over the season. Indian horticulturists have reported a crop of 700 fruits from a 5-year-old tree. The production of a large tree may be overwhelming to the average homeowner.

Jambolans of good size and quality, having a sweet or subacid flavor and a minimum of astringency, are eaten raw and may be
made into tarts, sauces and jam. Astringent fruits are improved in palatability by soaking them in salt water or pricking them,
rubbing them with a little salt, and letting them stand for an hour. All but decidedly inferior fruits have been utilized for juice which is much like grape juice. When extracting juice from cooked jambolans, it is recommended that it be allowed to drain out without squeezing the fruit and it will thus be less astringent. The white-fleshed jambolan has adequate pectin and makes a very stiff jelly unless cooking is brief. The more common purple-fleshed yields richly colored jelly but is deficient in pectin and requires the addition of a commercial jelling agent or must be combined with pectinrich fruits such as unripe or sour guavas, or ketembillas.

Good quality jambolan juice is excellent for sherbet, sirup and "squash". In India, the latter is a bottled drink prepared by cooking the crushed fruits, pressing out the juice, combining it with sugar and water and adding citric acid and sodium benzoate as a preservative.
 

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