Myrceugenia planipes, known as Valdivia's patagua (Patagua de Valdivia) is an

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, which ...

found in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

from 37 to 45°S. It occurs between 400 (1300) and 700 m (2300 ft) above sea level.

Description

It is an

small tree or shrub that measures up to 8 m (26 ft) tall, smooth grey bark, young shoots are densely hairy, opposite and elliptical leaves with the entire margin, acuminate

apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe * Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe *Apex ...

and wedge-shaped to acuminate base. The leaves are 2.2–8 cm long and 1.3 cm wide, glossy green and

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

above and pale green and hairy below when young. Petioles are fluted 2–6 mm long. Midrib prominent underside. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

, solitary and axillary or clustered in axillary

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s in groups of 2-3 flowers, 4

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s fused at the base and 4 with free falling white

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s . The

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are very numerous: they vary 120-220 and 7–12 mm long, a

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

about 5–8 mm long. The fruit is a black sub-globose

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

, about 0.8–1 cm diameter . Within it there are 3-4 seeds about 4–5 mm long.

Uses

It is used in popular medicine as remedy for skin diseases.

Etymology

It is the fusion of the names of the genera

Myrcia ''Myrcia'' is a genus of plants in the family Myrtaceae, containing about 765 species as of 2022. They are distributed in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, with centers of diversity in the Brazilian Cerrado and Atlantic Forest ...

and

Eugenia ''Eugenia'' is a genus of flowering plants 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 occur in the New World tropics, ...

. It has been planted in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q6948146 planipes Trees of Chile Trees of Argentina Trees of mild maritime climate Flora of the Valdivian temperate rainforest