I got a little excited recently, as I came across a tree that I didn’t realise was in the genus of Syzygiumand thus the Myrtaceae family, which produces some of my favourite flowers of all time. I only realised that it was when I saw the large yellow flowers about two weeks ago. Of course, being a bit of a plant nerd means I had to do a bit of research into what it is and where it comes from and all of that sort of thing.

The Malabar plum reaches up to 15 metres tall, with dense foliage. It’s a tree native to south-east Asia, cultivated fo its fruit and frequently spread throughout the region by birds. Leaves are oblong-lanceolate to 20cm long and 5cm wide. The flowers are a pale yellow colour, but descriptions I have read on the internet say white-green or cream coloured so it could vary-this is the first tree of this species I’ve come across and can’t give you any more information. As is the case with flowers in this family, they are very showy with the stamens that reach 5cm long. The fruit are round and yellow in colour, containing one or two seeds. The natural habitat of this tree is on mountain slopes and in riparian forests. The preferred climate of this tree is tropical areas with high rainfall. The tree is grown for its fruit, that has been traded for centuries, and for ornamental purposes.

On reading about this tree, I found that it is considered a weed in many areas of the world, including Queensland and other northern areas of Australia, Hawaii, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Fiji and the Galápagos Islands among others. The reason for this is the tree spreads quite easily through native forests and can form pure thickets of just this tree. This out-competes native species that are home and food for native wildlife, with often detrimental consequences for that wildlife.

The trouble with some plants that are introduced to a new country or place is that they can spread diseases that cause trouble for related plant species. As already mentioned, the Malabar plum is in the Myrtaceae family. Many native Australian plants like eucalyptus trees, lilly pillies, callistemons (bottle brushes) and paperbark trees, many of which are the dominant species in their particular environment. This family of plants are prone to myrtle rust, which is already having a devastating effect on the areas where it has reached within Australia.

It is really a word of warning. No matter where you live in the world, the plants you bring into your home can have a big impact on the other plants in your home, along with the environment outside your home and garden.

I say this for a few reasons. The first is that when you buy a new plant, you do need to know that it will do well in your garden soil and climate, and that the said plants need checking for any sort of pest or disease before purchase. Another reason to pay attention is for plants that are actually considered quite weedy but not to the point of being covered by legislation. Plants that are in this situation reach this status in part because they have been allowed to get out of hand by home gardeners-if you cannot look after gardening plants to the point that they spread beyond your garden, then don’t have them in your garden in the first place. It’s not hard with the internet to learn what plants you have in your garden, or buy and put into it, and how to care for them correctly-if you can’t do that then maybe don’t have them there or get someone to do it for you!