Can anyone guess as to what this small tree/shrub/weed, etc., might be? Last year I noticed it coming up in one of my pots in my shade house. I moved it out in the sun and the leaves got sunburned. Now it's acclimated and the leaves aren't burning. In any event, it needs to be potted up. I don't want to plant it until I know what it is.

Various native seeds get into my palm and tropicals pots and I thought that this plant may be a native, but the leaves don't look like anything growing on my property.

The plant isn't all that big, but the longest leaves measure about 8 inches in length. Note the reddish color of the new leaves. Perhaps the color might indicate what the species is. Actually, I kind of like the shape of the leaves, even if it proves to be a common weed tree.

I plan to keep stepping this plant up in pot size until I find out what it is and/or it gets too big, and I will plant it out. I have no idea of its cold hardiness as I put the plant in my garage on nights that dropped below freezing.

Looks like cleyera to me..common hedge/screen plant.

Hardy to zone 7.

-Jonathan

Edited April 20, 201016 yr by Xenon

Looks like cleyera to me..common hedge/screen plant.

Hardy to zone 7.

-Jonathan

I sent my photos (via email) to my county extension office today and they replied they thought my plant was Syzygium jambos,commonly called rose apple. I did a google on same and I believe that's what my plant is. Again, I have no idea how and where it came from. The only thing I can think of is that a seed must have somehow gotten in some of my potting soil. Until today I never even heard of a rose apple tree. I did look it up, though, in my copy of the The Tropical Look, and the fruit is edible.

In any event, thanks for taking a shot at the I.D.

http://www.ntbg.org/plants/imageonly.php?rid=835&plantid=10914

looks like S. jambos.

Walt--

Looks more like Syzygium cumini (Java Plum) than Syzygium jambos (Rose Apple) to me. Leaves of young plants of Java Plum tend to be thinner than those of mature trees. Rose apple has glossier, flatter foliage, is less likely to volunteer.

I have to check out my Rose apple tomorrow.... If I remember correctly, it has smaller leaves.

Regards, Ari

Walt--

Looks more like Syzygium cumini (Java Plum) than Syzygium jambos (Rose Apple) to me. Leaves of young plants of Java Plum tend to be thinner than those of mature trees. Rose apple has glossier, flatter foliage, is less likely to volunteer.

FF: You may be correct; however, the leaves on my plant appear longer and proportionately narrower than what I'm seeing in the photos of S. cumini. Check this link to see what I mean, then compare the photos to mine:

http://www.fleppc.org/ID_book/syzygium%20cumini.pdf

That being said, you now have me to thinking. About two years ago a customer came into my county extension office (where I perform master gardener duties) with some small plum colored seeds. He said he had this tree and the seeds were falling on the concrete roadway, making a big mess. He asked if I knew what species of tree it was. I now remember I did some research and sure enough, it turned out that his tree was in fact a Java plum. Moreover, I took some seed and sowed it in a pot! I had forgotten that I did this. So, my plant in question may very well be the result of one of the seeds I planted.

What puzzles me, though, is the leaf shape. To me, it looks more like rose apple. But at this point, I don't really care what species of Syzygium it is. It will be fun for me to watch my tree grow.

I have to check out my Rose apple tomorrow.... If I remember correctly, it has smaller leaves.

Regards, Ari

Ari: Smaller leaves? I'm really confused now. See my post to FF.

Java Plum.

Ari: Smaller leaves? I'm really confused now. See my post to FF.

Tomorrow is my day off... I will take photos and post it. Although, I don't think it has any new growth since we are getting into the dry season...

Regards, Ari

These trees can get pretty big . I have several planted close together in my back yard , and also have a few self sown in some of the pots I have sheltering underneath them .

It seems to be prone to a lot of the pests that attack young plant growth . The plagues that built up after Cyclone Larry has really set back a seedling I have planted in the front yard .

Going to cut out the front one as I planted it before I realised I already had several Fruit is OK and can be eaten straight off the tree .

These trees can get pretty big . I have several planted close together in my back yard , and also have a few self sown in some of the pots I have sheltering underneath them .

It seems to be prone to a lot of the pests that attack young plant growth . The plagues that built up after Cyclone Larry has really set back a seedling I have planted in the front yard .

Going to cut out the front one as I planted it before I realised I already had several Fruit is OK and can be eaten straight off the tree .

From your experience, under normal growing conditions, from a 1 meter tall plant, how many meters tall would the same tree be in five years? How many years to fruiting from the same size (1 meter) plant?

It does kind of look more like Java Plum than Rose Apple. Java Plums volunteer all over because the fruit is the right size for birds to eat, unlike the Rose Apples ping pong ball size fruit. Java Plums are very fast when planted. You could expect that one, with mild winters, to be 8 to 10 meters in 5 years.

Looks just like my Java Plum.

Okay, the consenses is Java plum. I believe it most likely is because I now remember (like I said in an above reply post) that a customer brought in a bunch of red-purple seeds on a branch with leaves (how we identified what it was) to my county extension office while I was on duty about two years ago. Just for kicks I tooks some seeds home and planted them. I guess only one germinated, which is the small tree I have now.

I actually forgot all about this prior to starting this thread. But once someone said they thought my tree was a Java plum, and I googled it and saw the pulpy seeds -- it sparked my memory!

In any event, I'm glad I posted my question, so as to refresh my memory.

I want to thank everyone for their replies. I believe I will plant my small tree in the ground soon, as it will probably grow faster than just potting it up in size and holding it for another year, which I was planning on doing.