| Bengali Name : | Jam (জাম), Kalo jam (কালো জাম). |
| Common Name : | Jambul, Jamun, Java plum, Jambolan, etc. |
| Botanical Name : | Syzygium cumini |
| Family : | Myrtaceae |
জাম আমাদের দেশের একটি জনপ্রিয় ফল যা জৈষ্ঠ মাসে পাওয়া যায়। জাম আমরা প্রচুর দেখলেও এর ফুলকে কিন্তু খুব একটা দেখা হয়নাই। গুচ্ছ গুচ্ছ অসংখ্য ফুলে ছেয়ে থাকলেও খুব একটা চোখে পড়েনা। ফল পেকে কালো বা কালচে বেগুনি রঙের হয়। টসটসে পাকা ফল খেলেই মুখ রঙিন হয়ে উঠে গোলাপী রঙে। দুপুরের রোদে লবন আর কাচা মরিচ মিশিয়ে জামের ভর্তা খেতে দারুন লাগে, যে না খেয়েছে তাকে আর বোঝানোর কিছু নাই। খাবার পরে আয়নায় জিব্বা বের করে দেখতাম কেমন রঙিন হলো। আমাদের পল্লী কবি জসিম উদ্দিনের জাম খেয়ে মুখ রঙিন করার কবিতার কয়টি লাইন তুলে দেয়া হলো নিচে:
ঝড়ের দিনে মামার দেশে
আম কুড়াতে সুখ
পাকা জামের শাখায় উঠি
রঙিন করি মুখ।
আম কুড়াতে সুখ
পাকা জামের শাখায় উঠি
রঙিন করি মুখ।
Today I am going to write about the flower of delicious Jamun fruit (কালো জাম). It is a very juicy colorful fruit and having plenty of names across the world! Few such names are Jambul, Jamun, Java plum, Portuguese plum, etc. In Bangladesh we call this as Kalo jam (কালো জাম), or simply Jam (জাম). Binomial name of this plant is Syzygium cumini and belongs to the family Myrtaceae. This fruit plant is native to the South Asia and East Asia. But later it has introduced into the other parts of the world by the Portuguese and British, during the colonization.
Jamun (জাম) is a very tall growing evergreen plant. It can reach up to 60 feet in height or even more than that. The leafs are broad, glossy, elliptic (or broadly oblong) in shape, leathery, oppositely arranged, and short pointed at the tip. Young leafs are light green and mature leafs are dark green. Leafs are having a sweet fragrance similar to the green or ripe fruit. The tree provides a cheap timber to make furnitures, and the branches are very soft and risky for climbing.
Flowers of the Jambul (জাম) are very beautiful. They bloom as a cluster. The blooming season is the March here in Bangladesh. During that period the tree brings myriad small flowers as a cluster. Flower is white or creamy white in color. It has a shape of a wine glass (or a bell or funnel) and the border of the ring is covered long frilly white stamens. It has a long style at the middle. The color of the center of the flower is light orange. Flower has four petals but I have missed those during my observation. Flower has a fragrance similar to the leafs or fruits.
Jaishtha (জৈষ্ঠ মাস) is a month from our Bengali calendar that is famous for ripping various native fruits in Bangladesh, and it is known as the month of juicy fruits. This Jamun (জাম) is one of those fruits which is available during that month (which is May-June in Bangladesh). This fruit is initially green, later turns into pink when semi ripe. Finally it becomes black or violet-black when fully ripen. Fruits are small and center of the fruit is having a capsule like seed. The fruit is fleshy and juicy with with flesh/pulp inside. This fruit produces a magenta color that makes the mouth pink. I guess the skin of the fruit mainly releases that color.
It is very natural that the plant brings numerous fruits on it as it brings flowers profusely. Bottom of the tree uses to get covered with plenty of purple fruits when they are fully ripen. It fact it makes the ground nearly black in color. And from the fallen fruits the new burgeon grows easily. Those burgeons look very cute to me as they are shiny.
No doubt it is a delicious fruit, but also it has few medicinal uses. The leaf of this plant is very much useful against the gum problem. The seed has an element to control the diabetic.
Ripe black Jamun (কালো জাম) is hanging from the tree.
Ripe black Jamun (কালো জাম) is hanging from the tree.
Ripe black Jamun (কালো জাম) is hanging from the tree.
Ripe black Jamun (কালো জাম) is hanging from the tree.
Ripe black Jamun (কালো জাম) is hanging from the tree.
Ripe black Jamun (কালো জাম) is hanging from the tree.
Ripe black Jamun (কালো জাম) is hanging from the tree.
Photos of this article were taken from Bangladesh during March 2015. I have taken the photos from the Romna park of Dhaka (রমনা পার্ক, ঢাকা) and from Gulshan of Dhaka (গুলশান, ঢাকা). Also I have seen this tree beside the Bonani play ground (বনানী খেলার মাঠ), it was just beside the road 27, which is beside the Kemal Ataturk Avenue. Photos of the fruits were taken near from the Viqarunnisa school of Shiddheswari (সিদ্ধেশ্বরী) during the first week of June 2015.
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icwow.blogspot.com/
"পাকা জামের মধুর রসে" হবে বোধহয়।
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