Eugenia axillaris (Sw.) Willd.
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Family
Myrtaceae (Magnoliophyta)
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Scientific Name
Eugenia axillaris (Sw.) Willd.
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Common Names
white stopper
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Description
Author: Maria Lúcia Kawasaki
Description: Shrubs or small trees ca. 2 m tall. Leaves: petioles 4-7 mm long; blades elliptic or ovate, 3-7 × 2-4 cm, drying brownish-green, paler below, chartaceous to coriaceous, glabrous, pellucid-punctate on both surfaces, the base cuneate to obtuse, the apex acute; midvein impressed on the upper surface; lateral veins 5-8 pairs, salient on both surfaces; marginal vein 1, the innermost 1-3 mm from margin. Inflorescences axillary, racemose, very short, often appearing short-fasciculate or glomerate, with up to ca. 10 flowers; peduncles ca. 5 mm long; pedicels to 3 mm long, the bracteoles ovate, to 1 mm long, persistent. Flowers: buds subglobose, ca. 2 mm long; hypanthium smooth, glabrous; calyx lobes broadly ovate, to 1 mm long; petals 2-3 mm long, glabrous; stamens ca. 3 mm long; style ca. 3 mm long. Fruits globose, ca. 1 cm diam., glabrous; seeds ca. 8 mm long.
Common names: Chokeberry, pigeon berry, wild guava.
Distribution: Southern Florida (USA), Mexico, Central America, and West Indies (McVaugh, 1989).
Ecology: Dry evergreen forest.
Phenology: Fl and fr in Aug.
Pollination: No observations recorded.
Dispersal: No observations recorded but the fruits are eaten by animals, especially birds, and the seeds are most likely dispersed by them.
Taxonomic notes: This description was prepared for the Plants and Lichens of Saba project and most accurately refers to the species as it occurs on that island.
Uses: None recorded
Etymology: The epithet refers to the axillary position of the flowers and the fruit.
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Floras and Monographs
Eugenia axillaris (Sw.) Willd.: [Book] Britton, Nathaniel L. & Millspaugh, Charles F. 1920. The Bahama Flora.
Eugenia axillaris (Sw.) Willd.: [Article] Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
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Narratives
