Psidium L.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Myrtaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Psidium L.

  • Description

    Genus Description - Trees or shrubs, commonly pubescent; twigs often acutely 4-angled. Leaves opposite, with translucent oil glands. Flowers medium to large, axillary, solitary, fascicled or in dichasia; bracts and bracteoles early deciduous; hypanthium prolonged beyond the ovary; calyx lobes 4 or 5, opening by irregular fissures; petals 4 or 5, white; stamens numerous, the filaments free, the anthers opening by longitudinal slits; ovary 3-4-locular, the locules with numerous ovules, the style subulate, the stigma capitate. Fruit a many-seeded berry, crowned by the persistent sepals.

    Distribution and Ecology - About 100 species, native to tropical and subtropical America, some in cultivation and escaped in warm regions.