The Wax Apple is an equatorial evergreen fruit bearing tree idigenous to Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. It is a species in the Myrtaceae family. This fruit is otherwise known as rose apple for its rose like aroma and taste. They are easily perishable, therefore rarely found for sale in the markets.

The tree grows from 5-15 m tall with an open, wide-spreading crown with leaves 10-25 cm long and 5-10 cm wide. The flowers are white, 2.5 cm diameter, borne in swagging panicles of 3 to 30 with four petals and many stamens. The fruit, 4-6 cm long is a bell-shaped edible berry, with colors ranging from pale green, green, white, red, purple, and crimson, to deep purple or even black.

The blossoms and resulting fruit are not restricted to the axils of the leaves and could come out on almost any point on the surface of the tree trunk and branches. When mature, the tree is regarded a heavy bearer and could yield a crop of up to 700 fruits. A ripened wax apple only resembles an apple on the outside in color. It does not taste like an apple. It has neither the aroma nor the denseness of an apple.

The bell-shaped wax apple is crisp and has a delicious fresh flavor. It is remarkably refreshing and juicy fruit. The color of its juice depends on the type of the cultivar. The very center of the fruit has got a seed that is placed in a rather cotton like mesh. The mesh is edible but bland.

The trees grow from seeds. However, desirable types are reproduced by layering and budding onto their own root stocks. The land must have a rich soil or crops will be small and fruit of poor quality. The wax apple grows only at lower elevations (1,220m) and it does best in regions of the Philippines that have longer dry seasons.

wax apple

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