exotic fruit - jambu mawar

the jambu mawar is a shrub with slender, wide spreading branches. it can grow to a height of 7 metres. as it is non-seasonal, it fruits throughout the year. you will most likely be attracted to it, first by its flowers with creamy white petals.

this is one tropical fruit most youngsters today have not seen, much less eaten. you hardly find this fruit in the market or at any fruit stall. the fruit cannot keep for long. in fact, in most cases, the birds get to them before we humans do.

if you travel along neo tiew road leading to the sungei buloh wetland reserve, you are bound to see the jambu mawar trees lining both sides of the road (neo tiew crescent). interspersed between them are the odd kedongdong, mango and nutmeg trees.

the fruit is nearly round, oval or slightly pear-shaped but much smaller in size, about 4 to 5 cm. the young fruit is green in colour while the mature fruit is pale yellow. it has a smooth skin. do not know how today's children will take to it because the fruit has a dry taste. i like the firmness and its fragrant scent, like that of a rose. that's why its english name is rose apple.

i am surprised that even adults do not know about jambu mawar. my wife asked what i had brought home. when told that they were fruit, she asked if i was sure. even my good friend victor, nearly seventy years, has not tasted the fruit before.