Eugenia
Encyclopedia
Eugenia is a genus
of flowering plant
s in the myrtle family Myrtaceae
. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,000 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 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. At least 20 new species are currently in the process of being described from New Caledonia, and approximately the same number of species new to science may occur in Madagascar
. 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 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.
All species are woody evergreen
tree
s and shrub
s. 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.
Eugenia species are sometimes used as food plants by the larva
e of hepialid
moth
s 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 Snowy Eupseudosoma
.
The genus was named in honor of Prince Eugene of Savoy
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the myrtle family Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae
The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of dicotyledon plants, placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus belong here. All species are woody, with essential oils, and flower parts in multiples of four or five...
. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,000 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
occur in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
tropics, especially in the northern Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and the Atlantic Forest (coastal forests) of eastern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Other centers of diversity include New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. 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
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
in the past few years. At least 20 new species are currently in the process of being described from New Caledonia, and approximately the same number of species new to science may occur in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. Despite the enormous ecological importance of the myrtle family in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(e.g. Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, Corymbia
Corymbia
Corymbia is a genus of about 113 species of tree that were classified as Eucalyptus species until the mid-1990s. It includes the bloodwoods, ghost gums and spotted gums. The bloodwoods had been recognised as a distinct group within the large and diverse Eucalyptus genus since 1867...
, Angophora
Angophora
Angophora is a genus of ten species of trees or large shrubs in the myrtle family , native to eastern Australia. It is closely related to Corymbia and Eucalyptus, and all three are often referred to as "eucalypts". The differences are that Angophora have opposite leaves rather than alternate, and...
, Melaleuca
Melaleuca
Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...
, Callistemon, Rhodamnia
Rhodamnia
Rhodamnia is a genus of rainforest trees and shrubs in the myrtle family. The name is derived from the Greek Rhodon which means "rose". And aminon, "bowl" where the blood of lambs was poured after sacrifice. It refers to the bowl shaped calyx tubes. Leaves are opposite and mostly three veined in...
, Gossia
Gossia
Gossia is a genus of rainforest trees in the myrtle family. The name honours the conservation works of the former premier of Queensland, Wayne Goss.There are around 35 species of Gossia. Found in Malesia to New Caledonia, Fiji and Australia...
), only one species of Eugenia, E. reinwardtiana, occurs on that continent. The genus also is represented in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
south of the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
, but it is relatively species-poor on that continent. In the past some botanists included the morphologically similar Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
genus Syzygium
Syzygium
Syzygium is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1100 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific...
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
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
suggests the genus may comprise at least two major lineages, recognizable by anatomical and other features.
All species are woody evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s. 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.
Eugenia species are sometimes used as food plants by the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of hepialid
Hepialidae
The Hepialidae is a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths.-Taxonomy and systematics:...
moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s of the genera Aenetus
Aenetus
Aenetus is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. There are 24 described species found in Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Australia and New Zealand. Most species have green or blue forewings and reddish hindwings but some are predominantly brown or white...
(including A. splendens) and Endoclita
Endoclita
Endoclita is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. There are 60 described species found in eastern and southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.- Species :*E. aboe - India*E. absurdus - China*E. actinidae - China...
(including E. damor and E. malabaricus). Aenetus species burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down. Other Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
larvae which feed on Eugenia include Eupseudosoma aberrans
Eupseudosoma
Eupseudosoma is a genus of moths of the Arctiidae family. The best known and most widespread species is Eupseudosoma involutum, the Snowy Eupseudosoma, a bright white moth which is found from the southern United States right down to the south of South America...
and Snowy Eupseudosoma
Eupseudosoma
Eupseudosoma is a genus of moths of the Arctiidae family. The best known and most widespread species is Eupseudosoma involutum, the Snowy Eupseudosoma, a bright white moth which is found from the southern United States right down to the south of South America...
.
The genus was named in honor of Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
.
Selected species
- Eugenia aurata O.BergOtto Karl BergOtto Karl Berg was a German botanist and pharmacist. The official abbreviation of his name, in botany, is O. Berg....
- Eugenia aggregata (Vell.José Mariano de Conceição VellozoJosé Mariano de Conceição Vellozo was a Brazilian botanist who catalogued specimens, for example: Cedrela fissilis Vell. in Florae Fluminensis...
) Kiaersk.Hjalmar KiærskouHjalmar Frederik Christian Kiærskou , sometimes also stated as Hjalmar Kiaerskov, was a Danish botanist....
– Cherry of the Rio Grande - Eugenia alternifolia
- Eugenia atropunctata
- Eugenia bimarginata DC.
- Eugenia blastantha (O.Berg) D.Legrand
- Eugenia brasiliensisGrumichamaThe grumichama is medium sized tree endemic to Brazil which bears small fruits that are purple to black in color, and have a sweet cherry-like flavor. Its wood is used in carpentry, woodworking and turnery. Its small size favors its use in urban landscaping...
Lam.Jean-Baptiste LamarckJean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck , often known simply as Lamarck, was a French naturalist...
– Grumichama (BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
) - Eugenia cerasiflora Miq.Friedrich Anton Wilhelm MiquelFriedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel was a Dutch botanist.He was head of the botanical gardens at Rotterdam , Amsterdam and Utrecht . He directed the Rijksherbarium at Leiden from 1862...
- Eugenia confusa
- Eugenia copacabanensis – Copacabana Beach Pitanga (Atlantic Coast restingasAtlantic Coast restingasAtlantic Coast restingas are an ecoregion of Brazil, part of the Atlantic Forest region. Restingas are coastal forests which form on sandy, acidic, and nutrient-poor soils, and are characterized by medium sized trees and shrubs adapted to the dry and nutrient-poor conditions found...
in the state of Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro (state)Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
, Brazil) - Eugenia coronata
- Eugenia dysenterica DC.
- Eugenia earthiana (Costa RicaCosta RicaCosta Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
) - Eugenia fernandopoanaEugenia fernandopoanaEugenia fernandopoana Engl. & Brehmer, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 54:337,1917, is a species of plant in the Myrtaceae family. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Equatorial Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat...
- Eugenia foetidaEugenia foetidaEugenia foetida is a member of the family Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, and is colloquially referred to as "Spanish Stopper" or "Boxleaf Stopper."...
- Eugenia fulvaEugenia fulvaEugenia fulva is a species of plant in the Myrtaceae family. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded 21 August 2007....
- Eugenia hiemalis Cambess.Jacques CambessèdesJacques Cambessèdes was a French botanist who was born in Montpellier.In March-June 1825, Cambessèdes performed investigations involving flora of the Balearic Islands...
- Eugenia jutiapensisEugenia jutiapensisEugenia jutiapensis is a species of plant in the Myrtaceae family. It is found in El Salvador and Guatemala. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded 21 August 2007....
Standley & Steyerm. - Eugenia klotzschiana O.Berg
- Eugenia koolauensisEugenia koolauensisEugenia koolauensis, commonly known as Koolau Eugenia or Nioi, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it could previously be found on the islands of Molokai and Oahu; today populations only exist on the latter...
O.DegOtto DegenerOtto Degener was a botanist and conservationist who specialized in identifying plants of the Hawaiian Islands.-Life:Otto Degener was born May 13, 1899 in East Orange, New Jersey. Degener graduated from the Massachusetts Agricultural College...
– Koolau Eugenia, Nioi (Islands of MolokaiMolokaiMolokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...
and OahuOahuOahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
in HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
) - Eugenia kunthiana DC.
- Eugenia lamprophyllaEugenia lamprophyllaEugenia lamprophylla is a species of plant in the Myrtaceae family. It is endemic to Jamaica.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded 21 August 2007....
- Eugenia ligustrina
- Eugenia livida O.Berg
- Eugenia luschnathianaEugenia luschnathianaEugenia luschnathiana is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, native to the state of Bahia, Brazil. The fruit is known as pitomba, and is also called uvalha do campo, ubaid do campo or uvalheira in Brazil. It shares the name pitomba with another South American species, Talisia esculenta.It is...
KlotzschJohann Friedrich KlotzschJohann Friedrich Klotzsch was a German pharmacist and botanist.His principal work was in the field of mycology, with the study and description of many species of mushroom.-Selected works:...
& O.Berg – Pitomba (BahiaBahiaBahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, Brazil) - Eugenia monticola
- Eugenia natalitia
- Eugenia orbiculata
- Eugenia pitanga (O.Berg ex Mart.Carl Friedrich Philipp von MartiusCarl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was a German botanist and explorer.Martius was born at Erlangen, where he graduated M.D. in 1814, publishing as his thesis a critical catalogue of plants in the botanic garden of the university...
) Kiaersk. – Pitanga - Eugenia pluriflora Mart.Carl Friedrich Philipp von MartiusCarl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was a German botanist and explorer.Martius was born at Erlangen, where he graduated M.D. in 1814, publishing as his thesis a critical catalogue of plants in the botanic garden of the university...
- Eugenia polyantha
- Eugenia punicifolia (KunthCarl Sigismund KunthCarl Sigismund Kunth , also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist...
) DC.A. P. de CandolleAugustin Pyramus de Candolle also spelled Augustin Pyrame de Candolle was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at an herbarium... - Eugenia racemulosa O.Berg
- Eugenia reinwardtiana (BlumeCarl Ludwig BlumeCharles Ludwig de Blume or Karl Ludwig von Blume was a German-Dutch botanist.He was born at Braunschweig in Germany, but studied at Leiden University and spent his professional life working in the Dutch East Indies and in the Netherlands, where he was Director of the Rijksherbarium at Leiden...
) DC. – Mountain Stopper, Cedar Bay Cherry (QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
in AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Pacific Islands) - Eugenia sprengelii
- Eugenia stipitataEugenia stipitataEugenia stipitata is a fruit tree native to Amazon Rainforest vegetation in Brazil. It has recalcitrant seeds which should not be grown in soil, but prefer semi-rotting wood...
McVaughRogers McVaughRogers McVaugh was a research professor of botany and the UNC Herbarium's curator of Mexican plants. He was also Adjunct Research Scientist of the Hunt Institute in Carnegie Mellon University and a Professor Emeritus of botany in the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.-Biography:Born in New York...
– Arazá (Amazon RainforestAmazon RainforestThe Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
) - Eugenia supra-axillaris
- Eugenia umtamvunensisEugenia umtamvunensisEugenia umtamvunensis is a species of plant in the Myrtaceae family. It is endemic to South Africa. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* Hilton-Taylor, C. et al. 1998. . Downloaded 21 August 2007....
(South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) - Eugenia uniflora L. – Surinam Cherry (Neotropics)
- Eugenia uruguayensis Cambess.
- Eugenia uvalhaEugenia uvalhaEugenia uvalha is a plant of the family Myrtaceae found primarily in Brazil. It reaches 20 to 45 feet in height and 1 to 1.5 feet in trunk diameter. It is a native species of Brazil, occurring primarily in the states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo...
(Brazil) - Eugenia zeyheriEugenia zeyheriEugenia zeyheri is a species of plant in the Myrtaceae family. It is endemic to South Africa. The Eugenia zeyheri has small glossy leaves, small white flowers, and black edible berries.-Source:...
Harv.William Henry HarveyWilliam Henry Harvey was an Irish botanist who specialised in algae.- Biography :William Henry Harvey was born at Summerville near Limerick, Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His father Joseph Massey Harvey, was a Quaker and prominent merchant...
(South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
)
Formerly placed here
- Syzygium aromaticumCloveCloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...
(L.) Merr. & L.M.Perry (as E. caryophyllata Thunb. or E. caryophyllus (Spreng.) Bullock & S. G. Harrison) - Syzygium cuminiJambulJambul is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae. Jambul is native to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia...
(L.) Skeels (as E. jambolana Lam.) - Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston (as E. jambos L.)
- Syzygium malaccense (L.) Merr. & L.M.Perry (as E. malaccensis L.)
- Syzygium samarangenseSyzygium samarangenseSyzygium samarangense is a plant species in the Myrtaceae, native to India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and widely cultivated in the tropics...
(Blume) Merr. & L.M.Perry (as E. javanica Lam.)