''Myristica'' is a genus of trees in the family
Myristicaceae
The Myristicaceae are a family of flowering plants native to Africa, Asia, Pacific islands, and the Americas and has been recognized by most taxonomists. It is sometimes called the "nutmeg family", after its most famous member, ''Myristica fragra ...
. There are over 150 species, distributed in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and the western Pacific.
The type species of the genus, and the most economically important member, is ''
Myristica fragrans
''Myristica fragrans'' is an evergreen tree indigenous to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It is important as the main source of the spices nutmeg and mace. It is widely grown across the tropics including Guangdong and Yunnan in China, Taiwan, I ...
'' (the
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...
tree), from which
mace is also derived.
Etymology
The name ' is from the Greek adjective , meaning ‘fragrant, for anointing’, referring to its early use.
The adjective is from the noun (‘perfume, ointment,
anointing oil
The holy anointing oil ( he, שמן המשחה, , "oil of anointing") formed an integral part of the ordination of the Priesthood (Ancient Israel), priesthood and the High Priest (Judaism), High Priest as well as in the consecration of the articl ...
’).
Description
All or nearly all species are
dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
. Knuth (1904) however cites a report of trees being male in their sex expression when young and female
later.
Perianth
The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...
of one whorl of three largely united segments. Stamens two to thirty, partly or wholly united. The ovary is superior, consisting of a single uniovulate carpel.
[Secondary Pollen Presentation. page 7. Peter Yeo 1993]
Species in this genus use secondary pollen presentation (pollen presentation in the flower which does not use an anther), the type of which is (German for ‘pollen-heap’), where pollen is in an exposed heap at the base of the flower.
Selected species
There are 171 accepted ''Myristica'' species as of April 2021 according to
Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...
.
Selected species include:
*''
Myristica alba''
*''
Myristica andamanica
''Myristica andamanica'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zon ...
''
*''
Myristica arfakensis''
*''
Myristica argentea
''Myristica argentea'' is a tree that grows in the primary rain forests of New Guinea. It is occasionally a source of nutmeg, and it (or its seed) is called Macassar nutmeg, Papua(n) nutmeg, long nutmeg or silver nutmeg. ''M. malabarica'' is use ...
''
*''
Myristica atrescens
''Myristica atrescens'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New ...
''
*''
Myristica basilanica''
*''
Myristica brachypoda''
*''
Myristica brevistipes''
*''
Myristica buchneriana
''Myristica buchneriana'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is a tree endemic to New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . ...
''
*''
Myristica byssacea''
*''
Myristica ceylanica
''Myristica ceylanica'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-st ...
''
*''
Myristica cinnamomea''
*''
Myristica coacta''
*''
Myristica colinridsdalei
''Myristica colinridsdalei'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is endemic to the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, link ...
''
*''
Myristica conspersa
''Myristica conspersa'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is endemic to West Papua (Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacifi ...
''
*''
Myristica corticata
''Myristica corticata'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is a tree endemic to Borneo.
References
corticata
Corticata ("one with a cortex"), in the classification of eukaryotes (living organisms with a cell nucleus), i ...
''
*''
Myristica crassa
''Myristica crassa'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is found in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geograph ...
''
*''
Myristica dactyloides
''Myristica dactyloides'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. The species was earlier thought to occur in India because two subspecies of the related '' Myristica beddomei'' found in India, namely ''M. ...
''
*''
Myristica dasycarpa
''Myristica dasycarpa'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New ...
''
*''
Myristica depressa
''Myristica depressa'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is a tree found in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.
References
depressa
Depressa, population 1,541, is a village or small town in the Salento traditiona ...
''
*''
Myristica devogelii
''Myristica devogelii'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is a tree endemic to Sulawesi in Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and ...
''
*''
Myristica elliptica''
*''
Myristica extensa''
*''
Myristica fasciculata''
*''
Myristica filipes''
*''
Myristica fissurata''
*''
Myristica flavovirens''
*''
Myristica fragrans
''Myristica fragrans'' is an evergreen tree indigenous to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It is important as the main source of the spices nutmeg and mace. It is widely grown across the tropics including Guangdong and Yunnan in China, Taiwan, I ...
''
*''
Myristica frugifera''
*''
Myristica gigantea''
*''
Myristica gillespieana''
*''
Myristica globosa''
*''
Myristica grandifolia''
*''
Myristica guadalcanalensis''
*''
Myristica guatteriifolia''
*''
Myristica guillauminiana''
*''
Myristica hollrungii''
*''
Myristica inaequalis''
*''
Myristica incredibilis''
*''
Myristica iners''
*''
Myristica inundata''
*''
Myristica kalkmanii''
*''
Myristica kjellbergii''
*''
Myristica lasiocarpa''
*''
Myristica lepidota''
*''
Myristica leptophylla''
*''
Myristica lowiana''
*''
Myristica macrantha
''Myristica macrantha'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to Fiji.
References
Endemic flora of Fiji
Myristica, macrantha
Least concern plants
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Plants described i ...
''
*''
Myristica magnifica''
*''
Myristica maingayi''
*''
Myristica malabarica
''Myristica malabarica'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in southwest India. It is threatened by habitat loss according to the IUCN Red List. It can reach up to 25 m long and its bark is ...
''
*''
Myristica maxima''
*''
Myristica mediterranea''
*''
Myristica millepunctata''
*''
Myristica nana''
*''
Myristica olivacea''
*''
Myristica ornata''
*''
Myristica ovicarpa''
*''
Myristica pachycarpidia''
*''
Myristica papillatifolia''
*''
Myristica perlaevis''
*''
Myristica petiolata''
*''
Myristica philippensis
''Myristica philippensis'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to the Philippines.
References
Flora of the Philippines
Myristica, philippensis
Vulnerable plants
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
P ...
''
*''
Myristica pilosella
''Myristica pilosella'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to Papua New Guinea.
References
Flora of Papua New Guinea
Myristica, pilosella
Vulnerable plants
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{M ...
''
*''
Myristica pilosigemma''
*''
Myristica psilocarpa
''Myristica psilocarpa'' is a species of plant in the Myristicaceae. It is endemic to Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. The conservation status of this plant is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservatio ...
''
*''
Myristica pubicarpa''
*''
Myristica pygmaea
''Myristica pygmaea'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New G ...
''
*''
Myristica robusta''
*''
Myristica sangowoensis
''Myristica sangowoensis'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is a tree endemic to Maluku in Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and ...
''
*''
Myristica sarcantha
''Myristica sarcantha'' is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is endemic to West Papua (Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific ...
''
*''
Myristica schlechteri''
*''
Myristica simulans''
*''
Myristica sinclairii''
*''
Myristica sogeriensis''
*''
Myristica tamrauensis''
*''
Myristica trianthera''
*''
Myristica tubiflora
''Myristica tubiflora'' is a species of tree in the family Myristicaceae native to New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceani ...
''
*''
Myristica ultrabasica''
*''
Myristica verruculosa''
*''
Myristica xylocarpa''
*''
Myristica yunnanensis''
Some species of ''Myristica'' have been reclassified into the genus ''
Virola
''Virola'' is a genus of medium-sized trees native to the South American rainforest and closely related to other Myristicaceae, such as nutmeg. Species are known commonly as ''epená'', ''patricá'', or ''cumala''. They have glossy, dark green le ...
'' by some botanical authorities.
Taxa that have been reassigned, or otherwise removed from the genus include:
*
''M. ampliata''
*
''M. irya''
*
''M. polyantha''
*
''M. succadanea''
*
''M. teijsmannii''
References
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1878350
Myristicaceae genera