Eugenia uniflora L.
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Family
Myrtaceae (Magnoliophyta)
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Scientific Name
Eugenia uniflora L.
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Common Names
Surinam cherry, pitanga, Surinam cherry
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Description
Author: Maria Lúcia Kawasaki
Description: Shrubs or trees ca. 4 m tall. Leaves: petioles 3-4 mm long; blades ovate or elliptic, 4-5 × 2-3 cm, drying dark- or brownish-green, paler below, chartaceous, glabrous, pellucid-punctate on both surfaces, the base obtuse to subcordate, the apex acute; midvein impressed on the upper surface; lateral veins 4-8 pairs, salient on both surfaces; marginal veins 2, irregularly arched, the innermost 1-3 mm from margin. Inflorescences axillary, racemose, appearing fasciculate, involucrate, with 2-4 flowers; peduncles inconspicuous; pedicels 1-2 cm long, the bracteoles linear, ca. 1 mm long, early deciduous. Flowers: buds obconical, 3-4 mm long; hypanthium costate, glabrous; calyx lobes ovate to lanceolate, 3-4 mm long; petals ca. 7 mm long, glabrous; stamens to 7 mm long; style ca. 5 mm long. Fruits globose, costate, 2-3 cm diam., glabrous; seeds to 15 mm long.
Common names: Pitanga, Surinam cherry
Distribution: Widely cultivated. Native to southeastern Brazil.
Ecology: Disturbed moist forest on slopes.
Phenology: Fr in Mar.
Pollination: No recorded observations.
Dispersal: No recorded observations but the fruits are eaten by animals and the seeds are most likely dispersed by them.
Taxonomic notes: This description was prepared for the Plants and Lichens of Saba project and it most accurately describes this species as it occurs on this island.
Uses: Widely cultivated as ornamental tree and for its edible fruits.
Etymology: The epithet alludes to the sometimes single-flowered inflorescences.
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Floras and Monographs
Eugenia uniflora L.: [Article] Maguire, Bassett. 1969. The botany of the Guayana Highland-part VIII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 18: 1-290.
Eugenia uniflora L.: [Book] Britton, Nathaniel L. & Millspaugh, Charles F. 1920. The Bahama Flora.
