Overview
Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Water Pear
Description
Family Myrtaceae
Trees
or shrubs
, evergreen
, usually with essential oils-containing cavities in foliage
, branchlets
, and flowers. Stipules absent or small and caducous
. Leaves opposite, occasionally alternate, occasionally ternate
or pseudo-whorled; leaf blade
with secondary veins pinnate or basal, often with intramarginal veins
near margin
, margin usually entire. Inflorescences axillary
or terminal
, cymose
but variously arranged, 1- to many-flowered. Flowers bisexual
, sometimes polygamous, actinomorphic
. Hypanthium usually adnate
to ovary and prolonged above it. Calyx lobes
(3 or) 4 or 5 or more, distinct
or connate
into a calyptra. Petals 4 or 5, sometimes absent, distinct or connate into a calyptra, sometimes coherent and pseudocalyptrate. Stamens usually numerous
, in 1 to several whorls; filaments
distinct or connate into 5 bundles opposite petals; anthers
2-celled, dorsifixed
or basifixed
, dehiscing longitudinally or rarely terminally; connectives
usually terminating in 1 or more apical glands
. Ovary inferior, semi-inferior, or very rarely superior, carpels 2 to more, locules 1 to many, pseudoseptum sometimes present, placentation usually axile
but occasionally parietal
; ovules 1 to several per locule. Style single; stigma single. Fruit a capsule, berry, drupaceous
berry, or drupe, 1- to many-seeded. Seeds without endosperm or endosperm sparse and thin; testa cartilaginous
or thinly membranous, sometimes absent; embryo straight or curved
.
About 130 genera and 4500-5000 species: Mediterranean region, sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, tropical
and temperate
Asia, Australia, Pacific islands, tropical and South America; 10 genera (five introduced
) and 121 species (50 endemic, 32 introduced treated here) in China.
Many Myrtaceae are cultivated garden ornamentals
, street trees, or plantation trees. Some members
of tribe
Syzygieae are grown as fruit crops. In addition to the cultivated members of the family
treated here, some others grown in China include Acca sellowiana (O. Berg
) Burrett (Feijoa sellowiana (O. Berg) O. Berg), Myrtus communis Linnaeus, and Syncarpia glomulifera (Smith) Niedenzu.[1]
Genus Syzygium
Trees
or shrubs
. Branchlets
sometimes 2-4-ridged, usually glabrous
. Leaves opposite or sometimes whorled
, petiolate
to subsessile
; leaf blade
densely to sometimes sparsely pinnately veined. Inflorescences terminal
or axillary
, usually panicles of cymes, 3- to many-flowered; bracts small, caducous
after flowering. Flowers stipitate
or not. Hypanthium obconic or sometimes clavate
. Calyx lobes
4 or 5 or rarely more, usually short, caducous or persistent
, apex usually obtuse
, rarely connate
and then calyptrate
. Petals 4 or 5 or rarely more, distinct
and then expanding separately or coherent and then caducous as a unit
. Stamens numerous
, distinct but occasionally slightly adhering at base
; anthers
minute, versatile, 2-celled, cells
parallel or divergent, dehiscing longitudinally or by a short terminal slit; connectives
usually terminating in an apical gland
. Ovary inferior, 2 or 3-loculed; ovules many per locule. Style linear
. Fruit drupaceous
, 1(or 2) -seeded. Seeds sometimes with or without a testa, often with a pseudotesta ± adhering to pericarp, rarely with intrusive branching tissue
extending into and interlocking cotyledons; embryo usually uniembryonic, sometimes polyembryonic.
About 1200 species: tropical
Africa, subtropical
to tropical Asia, Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Pacific islands; 80 species (45 endemic, two introduced
) in China.
Syzygium is treated here in a broad sense with Acmena and Cleistocalyx included
within it. Morphological and anatomical investigations, and molecular sequence studies of chloroplast and nuclear
regions, provide support
for such an expanded concept (Amer. J. Bot. 59: 423-436. 1972; Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 92: 433-489. 1972; Proc. Fourth Fl.
Mal. Symp. 75-85. 2001; Austral
. Syst. Bot. 17: 63-72. 2004; Taxon
55: 79-94. 2006).[2]
Habitat
Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,107 meters (0 to 6,913 feet).[3]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
)
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
)
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
)
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
)
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
)
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
)
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
)
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Myrtanae
(
)
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Order:
Myrtales
(
)
- Reichenbach, 1828
- Suborder:
Myrtineae
(
)
-
- Family:
Myrtaceae
(
)
- A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons.
- Myrtle Family
- Subfamily:
Myrtoideae
(
)
- Genus:
Syzygium
(
)
- J. Gaertner, 1788, nom. cons.
- Sedge
- Specific epithet:
guineense
- (Willd.) DC.
- Botanical name: - Syzygium guineense (Willd.) DC.
- Specific epithet:
guineense
- (Willd.) DC.
- Genus:
Syzygium
(
- Subfamily:
Myrtoideae
(
- Family:
Myrtaceae
(
- Suborder:
Myrtineae
(
- Order:
Myrtales
(
- Superorder:
Myrtanae
(
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Last scrutiny: 11-Nov-2003
Similar Species
Members of the genus Syzygium
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 20 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
S. angophoroides (Yarrabah Satinash) · S. aqueum (Watery Roseapple) · S. aromaticum (Clove) · S. australe 'Australis' (Australian Brush Cherry) · S. cumini (Indian Allspice) · S. grande (Sea Apple) · S. guineense (Water Pear) · S. jambos (Malabar Plum) · S. jambos 'Alston' (Malabar Plum) · S. javanicum (Java Plum) · S. luehmannii (Cherry Alder) · S. malaccense (Macopa) · S. malaccense 'Maroone' (Malay Apple) · S. oleosum (Blue Cherry) · S. paniculatum (Australian Brush Cherry) · S. polyanthum (Indonesian Bay Leaf) · S. pycnanthum (Wild Rose) · S. samarangense (Java Apple) · S. sandwicense ('ohi'a Ha) · S. wilsonii (Brush Cherry)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- A global directory of tropical montane cloud forests. Draft WCMC url p. 73.
- A record of plants collected in Southern Rhodesia; arramged on Engler's system. Compiled by Fred. Eyles. Cape Town, 1916 url p. 431.
- Biosphere Reserves, Compilation 4, October 1986: programme on man and the biosphere (MAB) IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 335.
- Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: The Museum, 1951-1992. url p. 347.
- Carnegie Institution of Washington publication. Washington, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1902- url p. 12.
- Flora of tropical Africa. By Daniel Oliver. .. assisted by other botanists. London, L. Reeve, 1868-1902. url p. 438.
- IUCN Directory of Afrotropical Protected Areas IUCN, UNEP url p. 529, p. 645, p. 655.
- Novon a journal of botanical nomenclature from the Missouri Botanical Garden. 12 2002 St. Louis, MO: Missouri Botanical Garden, url p. 204.
- Oliver, D. Flora of tropical Africa /by Daniel Oliver. .. assisted by other botanists. 2 1871 London: L. Reeve and co., 1868-1999. url p. 438.
- Phytologia. Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 106.
- Pre-project study on the conservation status of tropical timbers in trade. Final report to International Tropical Timber Organization. Vol 1 ITTO url p. 104.
- Proceedings and transactions of the South London Entomological & Natural History Society. London: The Society. url p. 98.
- Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. Sydney, Linnean Society of New South Wales. url p. 227.
- South African journal of science. [Marshalltown, Transvaal: South African Association for the Advancement of Science, url p. 355.
- Technical series. Washington, Govt. print. off., 1895-1915. url p. 68.
- The Bradley bibliography; a guide to the literature of the woody plants of the world published before the beginning of the twentieth century; Cambridge, Riverside Press, 1911-18. url p. 633.
- The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Africa IUCN url p. 103.
- The Ecology of arboreal folivores: a symposium held at the Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, May 29-31, 1975 / Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1978. url p. 511, p. 512.
- The National Collection of Coccidae / by C.L. Marlatt. Washington: G.P.O., 1908. url p. 68.
- The Phytologist: a popular botanical miscellany. London, John van Voorst, 1844-56. url p. 115.
- The Review of applied entomology. Farnham Royal, Eng., etc.: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, etc. url p. 146, p. 788.
- The differentiation and specificity of starches in relation to genera, species, etc.; stereochemistry applied to protoplasmic processes and products, and as a strictly scientific basis for the classification of plants and animals Washington, D.C.Carnegie institution of Washington1913 url p. 12, p. 12, p. 221.
- Wissenschaftliche ergebnisse der Deutschen Zentral-Africa-Expedition, 1907-1908: unter Führung Adolf Friedrichs, herzogs zu Mecklenburg. Leipzig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1910- url p. 582, p. 630, p. 658, p. 682.
- Chang Hung-ta & Miau Ru-hwai. 1984. Myrtaceae. In: Chen Chieh, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 53(1): 28-135.
- Chang Hung-ta & Miau Ru-hwai. 1984. Myrtaceae. In: Chen Chieh, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 53(1): 28-135.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 15, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 4 providers.
- Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
- USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL (April 24, 2008)
- World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Release date: November 27, 2009
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 15, 2008:
- GBIF-Spain: Real Jardin Botanico (Madrid), Vascular Plant Herbarium (MA)
- Herbarium of the University of Aarhus: The AAU Herbarium Database
- Missouri Botanical Garden
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5984220
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-199663
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15649918
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:601751-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 12926
Footnotes
- Jie Chen & Lyn A. Craven "Myrtaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 321. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
- "Syzygium". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 321, 335. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
- Mean = 692.890 meters (2,273.261 feet), Standard Deviation = 1,050.110 based on 81 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
