According to the Dirghama Sutra it was one of the four colossal mythical trees which make the four cardinal points standing to the south of Mount Meru; four great rivers rise at its base. The Vishnupurana states that the continent of Jambudvipa takes its name from this tree. Ibu Batuta, who visited India in 1332, mentioned this as one of the fruits of Delhi.Dr. C. Graeser, of Bonn, in 1880's, has published in the Central blatt fur klinische Medizin, an interesting account of a series of experiments on dogs with phloridzin-induced diabetes, with the extract of the fruit and the seeds of this plant.He concluded that the diabetes is considerably lessened by the seed extract, which is non-poisonous, and does not cause any ill effect.

It is a large evergreen tree with pale brown bark, which exfoliates in woody scales. Leaves are very variable, lanceolate, elliptic-oblong and acute or acuminate of subobtuse. Flowers are white and fragrant, sessile, arranged mostly in threes in trichotomous panicles, which are usually appear from the scars of fallen leaves, but sometimes in leaf axils. Petals are thin and membranous. Fruit is ellipsoid of oblong, crowned with the truncate calyx-limb, black with pink juicy pulp.

S.cuminii is a large, evergreen tree. The bark is brown or greyish, smooth; the leaves, lanceolate, elliptic-oblong, coriaceous, gland-dotted, smooth and shiny; the flowers are greenish white, fragrant. The fruits are ellipsoid or oblong, black with pinkish juicy pulp; with single seeds.

S.cuminii contains malic acid, a small quantity of oxalic acid, gallic acid and tannins.

The fruits form an ingredient of a preparation used to treat asthma. The seeds are hypoglycaemic. They also possess anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic and antipyretic properties.