Syzygium

Syzygium (/sɪˈzɪdʒiːəm/)[3] is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1200 species,[4][5][6] and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific.[7] Its highest levels of diversity occur from Malaysia to northeastern Australia, where many species are very poorly known and many more have not been described taxonomically. One indication of this diversity is in leaf size, ranging from as little as a half inch (one cm) to as great as 4 ft 11 inches (1.5 meters) by sixteen inches (38 centimeters) in Syzygium acre of New Caledonia.[8]

Syzygium
Syzygium malaccense
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Subfamily:	Myrtoideae
Tribe:	Syzygieae
Genus:	Syzygium P. Browne ex Gaertn.[1]
Species
About 1100; see List of Syzygium species
Synonyms[2]
List Acicalyptus A. Gray Acmena DC. Acmenosperma Kausel Anetholea Peter G. Wilson Aphanomyrtus Miq. Bostrychode (Miq.) O. Berg in C. F. P. von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.) Caryophyllus L. Cerocarpus Colebr. ex Hassk. Cetra Noronha Clavimyrtus Blume Cleistocalyx Blume Cupheanthus Seem. Gaslondia Vieill. Gelpkea Blume Jambolifera Houtt. Jambos Adans. Jambosa DC. nom. illeg. Leptomyrtus (Miq.) O. Berg in C. F. P. von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.) Lomastelma Raf. Macromyrtus Miq. Macropsidium Blume Malidra Raf. Microjambosa Blume Myrthoides Wolf Opa Lour. Pareugenia Turrill Piliocalyx Brongn. & Gris Pseudoeugenia Scort. Strongylocalyx Blume Syllisium Endl. Syllysium Meyen & Schauer Tetraeugenia Merr. Waterhousea B.Hyland Xenodendron K.Schum. & Lauterb.

Syzygium paniculatum (magenta lilly pilly)

Syzygium samarangense, with a cross section of the fruit

Most species are evergreen trees and shrubs. Several species are grown as ornamental plants for their attractive glossy foliage, and a few produce edible fruits called roseapples that are eaten fresh or used in jams and jellies. The most economically important species, however, is the clove Syzygium aromaticum, of which the unopened flower buds are an important spice. Some of the edible species of Syzygium are planted throughout the tropics worldwide, and several have become invasive species in some island ecosystems. Fifty-two species are found in Australia and are generally known as lillipillies, brush cherries or satinash.[9]

At times Syzygium was confused taxonomically with the genus Eugenia (c. 1000 species), but the latter genus has its highest specific diversity in the neotropics. Many species formerly classed as Eugenia are now included in the genus Syzygium, although the former name may persist in horticulture.[9] The Syzygium Working Group, an international group of researchers, formed in April 2016 with the aim to produce a monograph of Syzygium.[6]

The term comes from the Greek word syzygia, meaning "joining together or conjunction".[10][11]