Copy permalink to share
Myrtaceae

not marked as a favorite taxon Myrtaceae A.L. de Jussieu. Common name: Myrtle Family.

Key to Myrtaceae

A family of about 100-142 genera and 3500-5500 species, trees and shrubs, nearly worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas.

Glossary (beta!)

ID notes: The Myrtle family includes subshrubs, shrubs, and trees and is a family primarily of the subtropics and tropics. Save for a handful of (mostly or all) native genera (Eugenia, Mosiera, Myrcia, Myrcianthes; primarily extensions of a broader Caribbean flora), and a few well-established (Melaleuca quinquenervia), and incipient invasives (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa), the Myrtaceae consists of mostly non-natives with sparse establishment into natural areas. A few genera contain species grown for consumption (Pimenta, Psidium, Syzygium) or use in horticulture (Eucalyptus, Melaleuca).

Distinguishing characters of the family include glandular punctate, aromatic leaves (these often coriaceous and evergreen), ovary inferior (flowers epigynous), and flowers with numerous stamens and a cup-shaped hypanthium, and fruit fleshy berries or dry capsules.

References: Wilson (1960c); Wilson In Kubitzki (2011). Show full citations.

Show in key(s)

Show genera in Myrtaceae

Show all taxa in Myrtaceae

Your browser does not support SVGs

Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend. Data for arrows not developed for genera and families which may have species only occurring outside the flora area.

image #1 of Myrtaceae© Keith Bradley | Myrcianthes | Original Image ⭷
image #2 of Myrtaceae© Keith Bradley | Syzygium | Original Image ⭷
image #3 of Myrtaceae© Keith Bradley | Pimenta
image #4 of Myrtaceae© Scott Ward, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Scott Ward | Corymbia torelliana source | Original Image ⭷
image #5 of Myrtaceae© Jay Horn | Rhodomyrtus tomentosa var. tomentosa source | Original Image ⭷
image #6 of Myrtaceae© Eric M Powell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Eric M Powell | Psidium cattleyanum source | Original Image ⭷

Feedback

See something missing or incorrect about Myrtaceae? Let us know here:
  1. Please include your name and if possible, email in case when need to clarify what you wrote.
  2. If you opt out of including email, please be as specific as possible (e.g., which photo is incorrect?)
  3. Please do not submit questions asking to identify plants or about horticultural topics (e.g., how do I control an invasive plant in my garden?). Instead, those questions can be submitted here for the Carolinas region only.
  4. Please do not send us feedback about unkeyed species as this work is ongoing.
  5. Please allow time for flora edits to show in our next data release. We greatly appreciate your feedback but may require extra time to research complicated taxonomic issues.

« show previous | back to original search ↑ | show next »