Eugenia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids II
Ordo: Myrtales

Familia: Myrtaceae
Subfamilia: Myrtoideae
Tribus: Myrteae
Subtribus: Eugeniinae
Genus: Eugenia
Species: E. aeruginea – E. aggregata – E. alaotrensis – E. alternifolia – E. ambanizanensis – E. analamerensis – E. anastomosans – E. ankarensis – E. antongilensis – E. arenicola – E. arthroopoda – E. atropunctata – E. axillaris – E. azeda – E. biflora – E. brasiliensis – E. buxifolia – E. calycolpoides – E. campestris – E. capuli – E. cassinoides – E. cerasiflora – E. cloiselii – E. coloradoensis – E. compta – E. coronata – E. coursiana – E. crassa – E. crenata – E. curranii – E. densiflora – E. diospyroides – E. dononaeifolia – E. dulcis – E. dysenterica – E. elliptica – E. flavicarpa – E. foetida – E. glaucescens – E. glomerata – E. goiapabana – E. goviala – E. guabiju – E. guilleminiana – E. guillotii – E. haematocarpa – E. hazompasika – E. hovarum – E. inocarpa – E. insipida – E. involucrata – E. itacolumensis – E. kanakana – E. klotzschiana – E. koolauensis – E. lambertiana – E. latifolia – E. leitonii – E. ligustrina – E. lineata – E. lokohensis – E. longuensis – E. loretensis – E. louvelii – E. luschnathiana – E. madagascariensis – E. magnifica – E. marowynensis – E. megacarpa – E. microphylla – E. muscicola – E. myriophylla – E. myrtifolia – E. neogracilis – E. nesiotica – E. nhanica – E. nitens – E. nompa – E. obovata – E. oleaefolia – E. oleaeoides – E. oligantha – E. ombrophila – E. parkeri – E. patrisii – E. petrinensis – E. philippioides – E. pisiformis – E. pitanga – E. pluricymosa – E. psidioideum – E. punicifolia – E. pyriformis – E. pyxidata – E. quadriflora – E. radiciflora – E. randrianasoloi – E. reinwardtiana – E. salamensis – E. schatzii – E. scottii – E. selloi – E. sihanakensis – E. speciosa – E. sprengelii – E. stipitata – E. strigosa – E. sulcata – E. supra-axillaris – E. syzygioides – E. temu – E. teresa-ruiziana – E. thompsonii – E. thouvenotiana – E. tropophylla – E. tuberculata – E. turbinata – E. uniflora – E. urschiana – E. valsuganana – E. variabilis – E. vatomandrensis – E. vauthiereana – E. viguieriana – E. vilersii – E. williamsiana – E. woodburyana – E. wynadensis
Name

Eugenia L., Sp. Pl. 1: 470. (1753)

Type species: Eugenia uniflora L., Sp. Pl.: 470 (1753)

Synonyms

Calycorectes O.Berg (possibly)
Chloromyrtus Pierre
Emurtia Raf.
Episyzygium Suess. & A.Ludw.
Epleienda Raf.
Eplejenda Post & Kuntze
Eugenia sect. Erythronema F.Muell., nom. inval.
Eugenia sect. Eueugenia Benth. & Hook.f., nom. illeg.
Eugenia sect. Jambosa F.Muell., nom. inval.
Eugenia sect. Syzygium F.Muell., nom. inval.
Greggia Sol. ex Gaertn.
Hexachlamys O.Berg (possibly)
Jossinia Comm. ex DC.
Monimiastrum J.Guého & A. J.Scott
Meteoromyrtus Gamble, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1918: 241 (1918)
Myrcialeucus Rojas Acosta
Phyllocalyx O.Berg
Pilothecium (Kiaersk.) Kausel
Pseudeugenia D.Legrand & Mattos
Pseudomyrcianthes Kausel
Psidiastrum Bello
Stenocalyx O.Berg, Linnaea 27: 136 (in clave), 309. 1856.
Myrtopsis O.Hoffm., Linnaea 43: 133 (1881).

References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 470. Reference page.

Additional references

Snow, N., Rabenantoandro, J., Randriatafika, F., Rabehevitra, D., Razafimamonjy, N.D. & Cable, S. 2012. Studies of Malagasy Eugenia (Myrtaceae)—III: Seven new species of high conservation concern from the eastern littoral forests. Phytotaxa 48: 39–60. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.48.1.7 Open access Reference page.
Sobral, M. 2013. Eight new Atlantic rainforest species and nomenclatural notes in Brazilian Myrtaceae. Phytotaxa 135(1): 43–61. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.135.1.6 Reference page.
Wilson, P.G. & Heslewood, M.M. 2016. Phylogenetic position of Meteoromyrtus (Myrtaceae). Telopea 19: 45–55. DOI: 10.7751/telopea10389 Reference page.

Links

Farr, E.R. & Zijlstra, G. (eds.) 1996 onwards. Eugenia in Index Nominum Genericorum (Plantarum). Accessed: 2009 Oct 01.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2016. Eugenia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2016 July 31. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2016. Eugenia. Published online. Accessed: July 31 2016.

Vernacular names
suomi: Eugeniat

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.

Taxonomy

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. 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.

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]
Species
Main article: List of Eugenia species

Selected species include:

Eugenia angustissima O.Berg – needle-leaf cherry
Eugenia azeda M.Sobral – feijoa pitanga
Eugenia brasiliensis Lam. – grumichama (Brazil)
Eugenia brevistyla D.Legrand (Brazil)
Eugenia calycina Cambess. - savannah cherry
Eugenia candolleana – rainforest plum
Eugenia capensis – dune myrtle, Eastern Cape myrtle (South Africa)
Eugenia cerasiflora Miq.
Eugenia cereja D.Legrand – mountain cherry
Eugenia copacabanensis – Copacabana Beach pitanga (Atlantic Coast restingas in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Eugenia coronata
Eugenia dysenterica DC. a.k.a. Stenocalyx dysentericus O.Berg
Eugenia earthiana (Costa Rica)
Eugenia fernandopoana
Eugenia florida – rainforest cherry, guamirim cereja
Eugenia foetida
Eugenia fulva
Eugenia involucrata – cherry of the Rio Grande
Eugenia klotzschiana O.Berg – cerrado pear
Eugenia koolauensis O.Deg – Koʻolau eugenia, nioi (Islands of Molokaʻi and Oʻahu in Hawaii)
Eugenia lamprophylla
Eugenia luschnathiana Klotzsch & O.Berg – Bahia pitomba (Bahia, Brazil), not to be confused with Talisia esculenta
Eugenia mabaeoides Wight.
Eugenia neomyrtifolia
Eugenia orbiculata
Eugenia palumbis – agatelang
Eugenia petrikensis
Eugenia pitanga (O.Berg ex Mart.) Kiaersk. – pitanga-peba, creeping pitanga
Eugenia punicifolia (Kunth) DC.
Eugenia pyriformis Brazil – uvaia, uvalha
Eugenia pruniformis Brazil – azeitoninha-da-praia (little beach olive)
Eugenia reinwardtiana (Blume) DC. – mountain stopper, Cedar Bay cherry, beach cherry (Queensland in Australia,, Indonesia, Pacific Islands)
Eugenia repanda – pitanga-jambo
Eugenia roxburghii DC.
Eugenia selloi – pitanga-tuba, pitangola
Eugenia sellowiana – field uvaia, field perinha, sweet uvainha
Eugenia singampattiana Beddome
Eugenia speciosa – ibaijuba, bush orange
Eugenia stipitata McVaugh – arazá-boi (Amazon Rainforest)
Eugenia subterminalis – bush cherry, smooth pitanga of the shade
Eugenia sulcata – pitanga-preta
Eugenia truncata
Eugenia umtamvunensis (South Africa)
Eugenia uniflora L. – Suriname cherry, pitanga (Neotropics)
Eugenia uruguayensis Cambess.
Eugenia victoriana – guayabilla (northern South America)

Ecology

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.
References

"WCSP". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
"Eugenia P.Micheli ex L.". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
"Login | Merriam-Webster Unabridged".
Stearn, W. T. (2004). Botanical Latin. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press.
Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray A. (2003). Australian native plants: cultivation, use in landscaping and propagation (Fifth ed.).
"The All-spice Genus Pimenta (Myrtaceae) from Hispaniola One New Species, Pimenta berciliae, Two New Combinations and Taxonomic Notes". 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
Flickinger, Jonathan A.; Jestrow, Brett; Oviedo Prieto, Ramona; Santiago-Valentín, Eugenio; Sustache-Sustache, José; Jiménez-Rodríguez, Francisco; Campbell, Keron C. St. E. & Francisco-Ortega, Javier (2020). "A phylogenetic survey of Myrtaceae in the Greater Antilles with nomenclatural changes for some endemic species". Taxon. 69 (3): 448–480. doi:10.1002/tax.12263. S2CID 225866702.
Wilson, P.G. & Heslewood, M.M. (2016). "Phylogenetic position of Meteoromyrtus (Myrtaceae)". Telopea. 19: 45–55. doi:10.7751/telopea10389.