Scientific Name : Syzygium levinei (Merr.) Merr. and L. M. Perry
Common Name : Levine’s Syzygium
Chinese Name : 山蒲桃, 白車
Family : MYRTACEAE
Local distribution status : Native species
| Origin | Hongkong and Southeast China, eg. Guangxi, Guangdong and Haina. |
|---|---|
| Meanings of name | The generic name Syzygium comes from the Greek word suzugos, meaning joined. |
| Ecology | During the flowering seasons, the crown is festooned by uncountable white blossoms. The blossoms yield profuse nectars which constitute one of the major food sources to wild animals. Its fruits are glucose-prolific, juicy, brilliant, and beyond all dispute serves as a delicacy to birds. |
| Vitality | It prefers grows near sparse forests and streams with the sunny weather and shows moderate tolerance to drought and wind. |
| Application | The fruits are wholesome and can be eaten fresh while they can be also processed into fruit paste, jam and high-class beverages like wine. The tree also shows excellent medicinal properties. It is antiviral, antioxidant and antibacterial. Apart from taken it orally, its external application can effectively relieve blood stasis, bruises and swelling, also promote detoxification and hemostasis. |
| Relatives of Syzygium | Sometimes it is a little difficult to distinguish different species of Syzygium, which are similar in appearance, such as mountain apple and rose apple. In Hong Kong, rose apples are widely planted in urban parks and streets, while mountain apples are more commonly found in suburbs and rural areas. Although the phyllotaxy of both is opposite, the leaves of rose apple are larger, and the size of flowers and fruits are larger than that of mountain apple. The leaves, flowers and fruits of the rose apple are exactly the same size as the mountain apple. |
| Growing habit | Evergreen tree. |
|---|---|
| Height | To 15 m. |
| Stem | Bark whitish. Branchlets terete, chaffy, greyish white when dry. |
| Leaves | Opposite. Blade elliptic to ovate-elliptic, leathery, base broadly cuneate, apex acute, margin entire, both surfaces glossy, glandular. Secondary veins at an angle of 45° from the midvein, with notable intramarginal veins. |
| Flower | Androgynous. Inflorescences terminal or axillary on apical parts of branchlets, paniculate cymes, numerous flowers, small, white, numerous stamens. |
| Fruit | Fruit subglobose, 7-8 mm, 1-seeded. |
| Flowering period | July to September in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting period | February to May in Hong Kong. |
Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website :
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:601867-1
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Syzygium levinei (Merrill) Merrill & L. M. Perry
― Plants of the World Online : Syzygium levinei (Merr.) Merr.