Myrsine
Myrsine is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was formerly placed in the family Myrsinaceae before this was merged into the Primulaceae. It is found nearly worldwide, primarily in tropical and subtropical areas. It contains over 280 species, including several notable radiations, such as the matipo of New Zealand and the kōlea of Hawaii. In the United States, members of this genus are known as colicwood. Some species, especially M. africana, are grown as ornamental shrubs.
The leathery, evergreen leaves are simple and alternate, with smooth or toothed margins and without stipules. The one-seeded, indehiscent fruit is a thin-fleshed globose drupe. The flowers and fruits often do not develop until after leaf fall and thus appear naked on the branches. The fruits often do not mature until the year after flowering. The calyx is persistent.
The Pacific basin and New World species formerly separated in the genera Rapanea and Suttonia are now generally included in Myrsine.
Selected species
Myrsine adamsonii Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine africana L. Myrsine andersonii Fosbert & Sachet Myrsine australis – Red matipo, mapou Myrsine brownii Fosbert & Sachet Myrsine bullata Pipoly Myrsine ceylanica Wadhwa Myrsine cheesemanii Hemsl. ex Prain Myrsine collina Nadeaud Myrsine degeneri Myrsine diazii Pipoly Myrsine divaricata Cunn Myrsine falcata Nadeaud Myrsine fasciculata Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine fernseei Hosaka Myrsine fosbergii Hosaka Myrsine fusca Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine gracilissima Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine hartii Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine hosakae H.St.John Myrsine howittiana Jackes Myrsine juddii Myrsine juergensenii Myrsine kermadecensis Cheeseman Myrsine knudsenii Hosaka Myrsine lessertiana A.DC. – Kōlea lau nui Myrsine linearifolia Myrsine longifolia Myrsine mccomishii Myrsine melanophloeos Myrsine mezii Hosaka Myrsine myrtillina Myrsine niauensis Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine nukuhivensis Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine obovata Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine oliveri Allan Myrsine orohenensis Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine pearcei Pipoly Myrsine perakensis Myrsine petiolata Hosaka Myrsine platystigma Myrsine raiateensis Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine rapensis Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine reynelii Pipoly Myrsine richmondensis Jackes Myrsine rivularis Pipoly Myrsine ronuiensis Fosberg & Sachet Myrsine salicina Myrsine seychellarum Myrsine sodiroana Pipoly Myrsine striata Myrsine tahuatensis Fosbert & Sachet Myrsine variabilis R.Br.