''Eugenia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

occur in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

tropics, especially in the northern

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Forest (coastal forests) of eastern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Other centers of diversity include New Caledonia and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. Many of the species that occur in the Old World have received a new classification into the genus ''

Syzygium ''Syzygium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1200 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific. ...

''. All species are woody

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s 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. 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 is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

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

. Despite the enormous ecological importance of the myrtle family in Australia (e.g. ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...

'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', '' Melaleuca'', '' Callistemon'', '' Rhodamnia'', ''

Gossia ''Gossia'' is a genus of rainforest trees in the myrtle family first described as a genus in 2003. It is native to northeastern Australia (Queensland and New South Wales) as well as several islands of Papuasia and New Caledonia. The name honour ...

''), 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 ''

'' 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, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

suggests the genus may comprise at least two major lineages, recognizable by anatomical and other features. Molecular phylogenetic studies have changed the historical

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: *Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) *Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthrop ...

of the genus. Many species formerly placed in ''Eugenia'' have been moved to ''

''. Two others have been reassigned to '' Pimenta.'' The Caribbean genera ''Hottea'', ''Calyptrogenia'' and ''Pseudanamomis'' were shown to be embedded in ''Eugenia''. The monotypic Indian genus ''Meteoromyrtus'' was also found to be part of ''Eugenia''.

Species

Selected species include:

Ecology

''Eugenia'' species are sometimes used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) 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

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s of the genera ''

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 predomi ...

'' (including '' A. splendens'') and ''

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 *'' Endoclita aboe'' – India *''Endoclita absurdus'' – China *''Endoclita ...

'' (including '' E. damor'' and '' E. malabaricus''). ''

'' species burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down. Other Lepidoptera larvae which feed on ''Eugenia'' include '' Eupseudosoma aberrans'' and the snowy eupseudosoma.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q975998 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Pantropical flora