Today I planted a white mountain apple tree that I got from Adam. I think the flowers on these are white instead of the pinkish red that covers the ground when in bloom and the fruit itself is white and sometimes a little pinkish.
Mountain apple is originally from Malaysia and Melanesia so it’s often called Malay apple outside of Hawaii. In Hawaiian it’s called ‘ohi’a ‘ai perhaps due to its similarity to the ohi’a blossoms. Here the season for mountain apple is in late summer.
In old Hawaii, it was a thing to plant mountain apple trees near popular bathing pools along streams. It would have been a refreshing sweet crispy rose flavored treat after dipping into the cold water. This is a young seedling tree and it will take about 7 to 8 years for it to start producing its first fruits.
Originally posted on 2021-11-28, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.