Java Plum

A fairly fast-growing evergreen tree of the myrtle family, often with several trunks from near the ground, whose glossy dark green leaves are pinkish when young and smell of turpentine when crushed. Small fragrant flowers in clusters turn from cream to rose-pink, and are followed by oval berries that ripen through purplish-red to shiny purple-black. The astringent fruits are eaten fresh or made into juice, jam and wine, and the tree is held sacred in Buddhist and Hindu tradition.