Flacourtia jangomas, or also known as the Indian coffee plum, Indian plum,[1] or scramberry, is a lowland and mountain rain forest tree in the family Salicaceae.[2] [3] It was once placed in the Flacourtiaceae family.[1] It is widely cultivated in Southeast and East Asia, and has escaped cultivation in a number of places.[4] Its wild origin is unknown but is speculated to be tropical Asia, *most perhaps India.[4]
This tree is very common in the Southern India and is of culinary and medical importance, especially in Kerala.
Flacourtia jangomas is a small, deciduous shrub or tree that grows to a height of 6-10m. Trunk and branches are commonly thornless in old trees, but densely beset with simple or branched, blunt woody thorns when younger. Bark is light-brown to copper-red with a flaky texture and the leaves are light green and narrow ovate in shape. The leaves and roots contain tannin.[1]
It produces small white to whitish green fragrant flowers. The relatively juicy fruits are rounded pink to dark red and about NaNinches wide.[5] The flesh is greenish yellow.[1] The plant is dioecious, having separate reproductive organs on different individuals, producing either male or female flowers. [6]
The plant is considered one of the primary host plants of the Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni).[7]
Flacourtia jangomas fruits are widely eaten around South Asia, both raw and cooked. They are noted for their mild sour and tangy taste. The fruits are pickled, salt-dried or cooked in Indian curries. They can also be blended into juices or made into jams and marmalades which are immensely popular in Southern India. Commercially produced coffee plum jams and pickles are exported across the world by various companies, mainly from Kerala.
In South Asian folkloric medicine, the fruits and leaves of Indian coffee plum are used against diarrhea. Dried leaves are reportedly effective for bronchitis and roots are said to suppress toothache. The bark of Flacourtia jangomas has various antifungal and antibacterial constituents which makes it an important ingredient for a few Ayurvedic drugs. Ground bark paste is also used for curing many common ailments in the tribal settlements of Western Ghat.
The wood is sometimes harvested for lumber in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. It is often used as a cheaper alternative to Teak and other expensive wood.