Tag Archives: Myrtaceae

Eugenia minguetii Urb.

Minguet’s Eugenia (Eugenia minguetii)

Minguet’s Eugenia is, or maybe was, endemic to the Massif du Nord, Haiti on the island of Hispaniola.

The area is subject to ongoing heavy deforestation and the plant, which was last seen in 1924, may well already be extinct.

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The photo below shows a closely related yet far mor widespread species, the Boxleaf Stopper (Eugenia foetida Pers.) which is also found in some regions of Haiti.

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Boxleaf Stopper (Eugenia foetida)

Photo: Juan Gabriel
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/juan_7
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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edited: 11.02.2024

Eugenia guayaquilensis (Kunth.) DC.

Guayaquil Eugenia (Eugenia guayaquilensis)

The Guayaquil Eugenia is known exclusively from the type specimen that was collected some time before 1823 near the city of Guayaquil, the capital city of the Guayas province of Ecuador.

The species was never recorded since and is very likely extinct.

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edited: 18.01.2020

Eugenia albida Bonpl.

White Eugenia (Eugenia albida)

The White Eugenia is apparently known from a single collection that was made some time in the 18th century somewhere in Ecuador, however this assumption might in fact not be true.

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There appear to be several species which are named Eugenia albida, and this name is also a synonym for several species; furthermore the species discussed here is sometimes thought as being endemic to Ecuador and sometimes to occur in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

It is mentioned here only for the sake of completness.

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edited: 18.01.2020

Metrosideros sp. ‘Rapa Nui’

Rapa Nui Ironwood (Metrosideros sp.)

The genus Metrosideros is known from Rapa Nui based on subfossil pollen. [1]

These pollen either came from a former indigenous population of the rather widespread Polynesian Ironwood (Metrosideros collina (J. R. Forst. & G. Forst.) A. Gray) or, given the isolated situation of Easter Island, more likely from an endemic species.

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References:

[1] J. R. Flenley; A. Sarah M. King; Joan Jackson; C. Chew: The Late Quaternary vegetational and climatic history of Easter Island. Journal of Quaternary Science 6(2): 85-115. 1991

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edited: 11.12.2018

Calyptranthes arenicola Urb.

El Morrillo Myrtle (Calyptranthes arenicola)  

This species is known only from a small region near Playa El Morrillo in the Pinar del Río Province on the northwestern coast of Cuba.

The species’ name appears in listings of extinct species, thus it is mentioned here as well, unfortunately I could not find out any further information so far.

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edited: 02.11.2020

Campomanesia lundiana (Kiaerskou) Mattos

Rio de Janeiro Myrtle (Campomanesia lundiana)

This species was restricted to the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil, it is known only from the type material which was collected in 1825.

The species was never found again and is considered extinct.

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The photo below shows an unspecified congeneric species that was photographed in the remains of the Atlantic forest in the state Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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unspecified Myrtle species (Campomanesia sp.)

Photo: Diego Monsores
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/monsores_diego
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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edited: 05.02.2024

Psidium dumetorum Proctor

Briar Guava (Psidium dumetorum)  

The Briar Guava was described in the year 1967.  

The tree is known only from a single locality, a thicket at a streamside in the Clarendon parish in the south of Jamaica, which was completely cleared shortly after the description of this species.  

The last specimens of this species were recorded in the year 1976.

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edited: 07.10.2020

Syzygium minus A. C. Sm.

Mt. Evans Rose Apple (Syzygium minus)

The Mt. Evans Rose Apple was described in 1985, it was restricted to the Mt. Evans Range on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji.

The species is known from only two specimens that were collected in 1964, it was never found again since and is feared to be extinct. 

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edited: 04.09.2019

Calyptranthes boldinghii Urb.

Sint Maarten-Myrtle (Calyptranthes boldinghii)  

The small, shrubby Sint Maarten-Myrtle was described in 1909, it is known only by the type material which was collected somewhere in the Dutch southern part of the island of Sint Maarten/St. Martin.

The species was not found again since, it is very likely extinct. 

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edited: 07.10.2020

Syzygium phaeophyllum Merr. & L. M.

Perry Gray-leaved Rose Apple (Syzygium phaeophyllum)  

The Gray-leaved Rose Apple is a 6 m tall tree that appears to be restricted to the island of Taveuni, Fijian Islands.  

The species is known only from two collections, made in the years 1933 and 1934 respectively.  

The Gray-leaved Rose Apple was never found again and thus is very likely already extinct.  

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edited: 28.03.2017

Myrcia skeldingii Proctor

Skelding’s Myrcia (Myrcia skeldingii)  

This species was described in 1958 (or 1959?).  

Skelding’s Myrcia is (or was) a 5 m tall tree growing in streamside thickets along the Mason River at the border between the Parishes of Clarendon and Saint Ann in the center of Jamaica.  

The species is easily distinguished from other Jamaican congeners by its subsessile, more or less subcordate, blunt-tipped leaves and its four-lobed calyx. [1]  

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The species was not found since 1972 and is most likely extinct.  

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References:  

[1] George R. Proctor: Further new records of Myrtaceae from Jamaica. Rhodora 60: 323-326. 1958  

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edited: 24.03.2017