Syzygium simile (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Syzygium simile (Merr.) Merr.

Protologue: Philipp. Journ. Sci., Bot. 79: 414 (1951).

Family: Myrtaceae

Synonyms

• Eugenia similis Merr. (1906).

Vernacular names

• Philippines: panglongboien (Iloko), malaruhat (Tagalog), arang (Mangyan), muning (Bisaya).

Distribution

Endemic in the Philippines.

Uses

The fruits are eaten raw. The timber is used for house and ship building and for implements.

Observations

• A small tree up to 15 m tall.
• Leaves opposite, elliptical-ovate to oblong-ovate, 9-11 cm × 4-6 cm, with c. 14 pairs of fairly indistinct secondary veins, petiole slender, up to 25 mm long.
• Flowers in panicles from branches below the leaves, calyx c. 3 mm long, with 4 distinct and persistent lobes, petals white.
• Fruit a subglobose berry, purplish to black.

S. simile occurs in forest at low and medium altitudes throughout the Philippines, but the supply of timber is limited. The wood is greyish-brown.

Selected sources

• Merrill, E.D., 1923-1925. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants. 4 Volumes. Government of the Philippine Islands, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bureau of Printing, Manila.

• Monsalud, M.R., Tongacan, A.L., Lopez, F.R. & Lagrimas, M.Q., 1966. Edible wild plants in Philippine forests. The Philippine Journal of Science 95: 431 561.

414, 426, 527, 673. timbers

Authors

• P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen