This is the tree that I planted last year along one side of the farm. When I picked this up from the nursery, I had no idea what it was but just took the word of the nursery owner that its a good one to have in the farm. Boy, was he right?
The first thing that I liked about the tree was that it grew really fast. Second, it has beautiful layers of branches and it look great from afar. It offers wonderful shade. But it really caught my attention when I tasted its small red fruits, the same size as a cherry. It was wonderfully sweet and tasty.
Later I came to learn that its called Singapore Cherry Tree or the more appropriately titled ‘Jam Tree’. In Tamil, its called ‘Nei Pazham’ (translated to Ghee Tree) for when its crushed, it has the same consistency of ghee. Thanks to my college classmate Abhay Vohra and my uncle, Giri Kumar, for identifying this tree which even the locals didnt know.
Its seeds fall to the ground and lots of small saplings grow. It reproduces quickly and its easy to transplant these into newer areas. No need to buy new ones. What more could one ask?!
