I spotted the fruits and flowers on the trees at Pantai Jeram, but the Mangrove Apples can be found along the Malaysian coast at the edge of the mangrove and mud flats.

The fruits are not commercially cultivated but harvested from wild trees for food and traditional medicine.

Growing wild, they are under threat, similar to the mangrove forest, from habitat loss caused by coastal development.

The flowers attract nocturnal pollinators such as moths, bats and fireflies. In Malaysia, spotting fireflies is a popular night-time eco-tourist attraction, generating a source of income for local communities.

Usually I would spot the Mangrove Apple growing close to the Avicenna officinalis, another common tree growing along the coast at the edge of the mangrove and mudflats.

Malaysian nature is rich in biodiversity. Let’s protect the coastal biodiversity.