Details :

General description(Size, commonly seen , status of availability etc.)

Syzygium cumini is a dense, evergreen tree native to the tropics, particularly to tropical America and Australia. It is commonly known as jambolan, black plum, jamun, java plum, Indian blackberry, Portuguese plum, Malabar plum, purple plum, Jamaica and so on. The tree has a greyish-brown bark with durable whitish wood. Its leaves are leathery, varying in shape, and often have a broad tip. The scented flowers, greenish-white and toothed, form in clusters. The fruit, a luscious, dark-purple berry with a single large seed, comes in different varieties, including seedless and purple to violet or white-fleshed ones. The small purple plums have a sweet flavour turning slightly astringent at maturity, resembling olives in weight and shape.   

Medicinal properties

All parts of the plant have been utilised for treatments in traditional medicine. Bark of the plant is used to treat sore throat, bronchitis, asthma, dysentery, and ulcers, making it a valuable blood purifier. The fruit is beneficial in treating bad breath, stomach ailments, and chronic diarrhoea. Leaves, when combined with mango and myrobalan, form a remedy for dysentery, and the seed extract is utilized for colds, coughs, and skin problems. Moreover, vinegar prepared from the ripe fruit's juice not only serves as a pleasant stomachic and carminative but also proves useful in treating spleen enlargement and acting as an efficient astringent in chronic diarrhoea.

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