Myrceugenia is a genus of evergreen woody flowering trees and shrubs belonging to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1855.[2][4] The genus is native to South America from central Brazil to southern Chile.[3] It is closely related to the genus Luma; some botanists include Myrceugenia in that genus.[5]
Myrceugenia | |
---|---|
Myrceugenia leptospermoides | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Myrtales |
Family: | Myrtaceae |
Subfamily: | Myrtoideae |
Tribe: | Myrteae |
Genus: | Myrceugenia O.Berg |
Type species | |
Myrceugenia myrtoides | |
Synonyms[3] | |
Nothomyrcia Kausel |
Two species are endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands in the Pacific Ocean west of the Chilean coast.[3] Myrceugenia fernandeziana is endemic to Robinson Crusoe Island and M. schulzei to Alejandro Selkirk Island, where they are prominent trees in the lowland and lower montane forests of the islands.