Lilly Pilly (Syzygium smithii, Acmena smithii)

Lilly Pilly, also known as Monkey Apple and Cherry Satinash, is a subtropical evergreen fruit tree or hedge native to Australia. It is a full-sun loving, part-shade tolerating member of the Myrtaceae family, along with Rose Apple and Surinam Cherry. A hedge favorite, the Lilly Pilly grows highly-textured bark, covered in dense canopies of shiny foliage that make for great ornamental additions to a landscape. With new growth sprouting reds, pinks, and bronze, the hedge matures to a thick, shiny, dark green wall of leaves. Albeit in the wild, it easily reaches heights of 60 ft. tall, the Lilly Pilly can easily be pruned to a dense 10-15 ft hedge, and can even be grown in a container!

Summer’s white flower clusters burst into tiny, round-to-oval shaped winter fruits about 1-2 cm long. They range in color from white, plum-red, or deep magenta and bear a white flesh of sweet-tart, cranberry-musk flavor full of a unique consistency between airy and crisp. Their high acidity gives them the perfect contender for canning into a fresh jelly!