Childhood Memories: Picking Jeymu

When we were children, we had a jeymu tree in the back yard, in front of the kitchen. This tree (also known elsewhere as muntingia calabura, Jamaican cherry, Panama berry, Singapore cherry and strawberry tree) had drooping branches with serrated leaves that had a slight fuzziness on them, and bore the sweetest, juiciest fruit - which we call jeymu - deep pink, sometimes red, when ripe. Inside these delightful little berries were hundreds of tiny soft seeds (all edible). Delicious!

The branches were about the level of the kitchen roof, so it was too far for us to reach from the ground. As the branches started fairly high up in the tree, it was not possible to climb the tree. But it gave us shade; shade under which to play.

To get the fruit from the jeymu tree, we had to find other ways. I remember climbing up on top of the roof with our uncle and spending hours picking the jeymu, and collecting more in plastic bags, to bring down to enjoy later. Although, we always seemed to eat more than collect!

These days, it is rare to see jeymu trees in the backyards in Male. So it is always a treat to see some when we go to other islands, or to rural areas of South and SouthEast Asia. I've never seen them sold anywhere - in fact, I think this is one of those things that one enjoys standing by the tree, picking them and putting them straight into your mouth. I can spend quite sometime at one tree, searching for suitably ripe fruit. Inhaling the sweet fragrance of it. Enjoying their juicy sweetness. One by one. Until there are no more red ones within my reach in the tree.


Each time I do see these red fruit hanging by their single stems on the tree, I am reminded of those days when we spent lazy afternoons on the kitchen roof, under the branches of the jeymu tree.