Eugenia | |
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Eugenia sprengelii | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Myrtales |
Family: | Myrtaceae |
Subfamily: | Myrtoideae |
Tribe: | Myrteae |
Genus: | Eugenia P.Micheli ex L. |
Type species | |
Eugenia uniflora | |
Species | |
Over 1,100; see list of Eugenia species | |
Synonyms [1] [2] | |
List
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Eugenia is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100 species occur in the New World tropics, especially in the northern Andes, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Forest (coastal forests) of eastern Brazil. Other centers of diversity include New Caledonia and Madagascar. Many of the species that occur in the Old World have received a new classification into the genus Syzygium . [3]
All species are woody evergreen trees and shrubs. Several are grown as ornamental plants for their attractive glossy foliage, and a few produce edible fruit that are eaten fresh or used in jams and jellies.
The genus was named in honor of Prince Eugene of Savoy. [4]
Many species new to science have been and are in the process of being described from these regions. For example, 37 new species of Eugenia have been described from Mesoamerica in the past few years.[ when? ] At least 20 new species are currently[ when? ] in the process of being described from New Caledonia, and approximately the same number of species new to science may occur in Madagascar.[ citation needed ] Despite the enormous ecological importance of the myrtle family in Australia (e.g. Eucalyptus , Corymbia , Angophora , Melaleuca , Callistemon , Rhodamnia , Gossia ), only one species of Eugenia, E. reinwardtiana , occurs on that continent. The genus also is represented in Africa south of the Sahara, but it is relatively species-poor on that continent. In the past some botanists [ which? ] included the morphologically similar Old World genus Syzygium in Eugenia, but research by Rudolf Schmid in the early 1970s convinced most botanists that the genera are easily separable. Research by van Wyk and colleagues in South Africa suggests the genus may comprise at least two major lineages, recognizable by anatomical and other features.[ citation needed ]
Molecular phylogenetic studies have changed the historical circumscription of the genus. Many species formerly placed in Eugenia have been moved to Syzygium . [5] Two others have been reassigned to Pimenta. [6] The Caribbean genera Hottea, Calyptrogenia and Pseudanamomis were shown to be embedded in Eugenia. [7] The monotypic Indian genus Meteoromyrtus was also found to be part of Eugenia. [8]
Selected species include:
Eugenia species are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of hepialid moths of the genera Aenetus (including A. splendens ) and Endoclita (including E. damor and E. malabaricus ). Aenetus species burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down. Other Lepidoptera larvae which feed on Eugenia include Eupseudosoma aberrans and the snowy eupseudosoma.
Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All species are woody, contain essential oils, and have flower parts in multiples of four or five. The leaves are evergreen, alternate to mostly opposite, simple, and usually entire. The flowers have a base number of five petals, though in several genera, the petals are minute or absent. The stamens are usually very conspicuous, brightly coloured, and numerous.
Syzygium is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1200 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific. Its highest levels of diversity occur from Malaysia to northeastern Australia, where many species are very poorly known and many more have not been described taxonomically. One indication of this diversity is in leaf size, ranging from as little as a half inch to as great as 4 ft 11 inches by sixteen inches in Syzygium acre of New Caledonia.
Backhousia is a genus of thirteen currently known species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. All the currently known species are endemic to Australia in the rainforests and seasonally dry forests of Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.
Ugni is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, described as a genus in 1848. It is native to western Latin America from the Valdivian temperate rain forests of southern Chile and adjacent regions of southern Argentina, north to southern Mexico.
Syzygium paniculatum, the magenta lilly pilly or magenta cherry, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, native to New South Wales, Australia. A broad dense bushy rainforest tree, in cultivation it grows to a height of 15 m (49 ft) with a trunk diameter up to 35 cm (14 in). The largest known example is at Ourimbah Creek, 35 m (115 ft) metres tall. The leaves are 3–9 cm (1.2–3.5 in) long, opposite, simple and slightly obovate, tapering at the leaf base. They are dark glossy green above, and paler below. White flowers are produced in clusters. The edible fruit is usually magenta, but can be white, pink or purple. The seeds are polyembryonic.
Myrcia is a genus of plants in the family Myrtaceae, containing about 765 species as of 2022. They are distributed in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, with centers of diversity in the Brazilian Cerrado and Atlantic Forests ecoregions. Myrcia was first described as a genus in 1827.
Pimenta is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae described as a genus in 1821. It is native to Central and South America, Mexico, and the West Indies.
Plinia is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae described by Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to Central and South America as well as the West Indies.
Calycolpus is a genus of the botanical family Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1856. It is native to the South America, Central America, and the West Indies.
Calycorectes is a genus of plant in family Myrtaceae first described as a genus in 1856. It is native to South America, southern Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.
Eugenia reinwardtiana is a shrub to small tree in the family Myrtaceae. Native to tropical forests in northern Queensland, Indonesia, and the Pacific Islands, its common names include Cedar Bay Cherry, Beach Cherry, Australian Beach, Mountain Stopper, Nioi (Hawaiian), and A'abang (Chamorro). They are typically 2 to 6 m in height.
Syzygium hemilamprum, commonly known as the broad-leaved lilly pilly, blush satinash, cassowary gum, Eungella gum, and treated as Acmena hemilampra in New South Wales and Queensland, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is native to New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. It is a rainforest tree with broadly lance-shaped to elliptic leaves, panicles of white flowers and more or less spherical white fruit.
Syzygium cormiflorum, commonly known as the bumpy satinash, is a species of Syzygium tree endemic to Queensland in northeastern Australia.
Myrteae is the largest tribe in the plant family Myrtaceae. It includes most of the species of the family that have fleshy fruits.
Eugenia pitanga, commonly known as pitanga do cerrado or savanna pitanga, is a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is found in the savannahs and grasslands of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. It is a deciduous shrub that grows up to 2 metres tall, has rhizomatous rootstock allowing it to form dense thickets, and produces red, edible fruit, 15-25mm in diameter.
Eugenia subterminalis, commonly known as cambuí pitanga, cereja do mato verdadeira, pitanga lisa de sombra, pitanga preta, and cambuízão vermelho do rio Paranapanema, is a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to araucária forest in Bolivia, northern Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The plant is a semi-deciduous shrub that grows to between 2 and 4 metres tall, and produces egg shaped fruit between 15 and 25mm tall, and 18 to 20mm wide.
Syzygium apodophyllum is a tree in the Myrtaceae family endemic to north Queensland. The fruit is edible. It is a host for the exotic plant-pathogen fungus Austropuccinia psidii, which is causing a lot of damage to vegetation communities and economic plants.
Eugenia calycina, also known as savannah cherry, field cherry, Jabuti cherry, Grão de galo, cerejinha, cereja do cerrado, pitanga-vermelha, red pitanga, cherry of the Cerrado, and ca-ajaboti, is a flowering shrub in the family Myrtaceae. The specific epithet (calycina) comes from Latin calycinus, meaning having a notable calyx.