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.[2] It is found nearly worldwide, primarily in tropical and subtropical areas. It contains over 280 species,[1] including several notable radiations, such as the matipo of New Zealand and the kōlea of Hawaiʻi (the New Zealand "black matipo", Pittosporum tenuifolium, is not related to Myrsine). 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 (distinguished from the African and Southeast Asian Myrsine sensu stricto by having the style absent and staminal tube and filaments completely adnate to the corolla) are now generally included in Myrsine.[3]
^ abcMyrsine L. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
^Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083.
^Wagner, W. L.; D. R. Herbst & S. H. Sohmer (1999). Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 934.
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...
Myrsine africana, also called Cape myrtle, African boxwood or thakisa, is a species of shrub in the family Primulaceae. It is indigenous to Southern and...
Myrsine melanophloeos, commonly known as Cape beech, Kaapse boekenhout (Afrikaans), isiCalabi (Zulu) or isiQwane sehlati (Xhosa) is a dense evergreen...
Myrsine lessertiana, the kōlea lau nui, is a species of colicwood that is endemic to Hawaiʻi in the genus Myrsine. It inhabits dry, coastal mesic, mixed...
Myrsine obovata is a species of plant in the family Primulaceae. It is endemic to the island of Raiatea, in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. Florence...
Retrieved 14 November 2021. Myrsine perakensis King & Gamble. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 5 October 2023. "Myrsine perakensis King & Gamble"....
Myrsine mezii, the Hanapepe River colicwood, is a species of tree in the primrose family. It is endemic to the island of Kauai in Hawaii. It is threatened...
Myrsine australis, commonly known as māpou, red matipo, tīpau, and mataira is a species of shrub within the family Myrsinaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand...
Myrsine fernseei, the streambank colicwood, is a species of plant in the family Primulaceae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is threatened by...
Myrsine degeneri, the summit colicwood, is a species of plant in the family Primulaceae. It is endemic to the island of Oahu in Hawaii. World Conservation...
Myrsine knudsenii, the Kokee colicwood, is a species of tree in the primrose family. It is endemic to the island of Kauai in Hawaii. It is threatened...
Myrsine oliveri is a species of plant in the family Primulaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand. World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1998). "Myrsine oliveri"...
Myrsine hosakae is a species of plant in the family Primulaceae. It is endemic to the Pitcairn Islands. Waldren, S. (1998). "Myrsine hosakae". IUCN Red...
Myrsine juddii is a rare species of flowering plant in the primrose family known by the common name cloudswept colicwood. It is endemic to Hawaii, where...
Myrsine fusca is a species of plant in the family Primulaceae. It is a tree endemic to French Polynesia, where it is native to the Tubuai Islands and...
Glenea myrsine is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Francis Polkinghorne Pascoe in 1867. It is known from Malaysia and...
Myrsine linearifolia is a rare species of flowering plant in the primrose family known by the common name narrowleaf colicwood. It is endemic to Hawaii...
Myrsine juergensenii is a species of broadleaf evergreen plant in the family Primulaceae. It is a shrub or tree native to Mexico and Central America,...
Myrsine kermadecensis, commonly known as the Kermadec matipo, Kermadec myrsine, or the Kermadec mapou, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae...
Myrsine myrtillina is a flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It is a shrub endemic to Lord Howe Island. The specific epithet comes from a fancied...
Myrsine howittiana, the brush muttonwood or muttonwood, is a shrub or small tree in the family Primulaceae. The species is endemic to eastern Australia...
Myrsine richmondensis, known as the ripple leaf muttonwood or purple-leaf muttonwood, is a very rare shrub of coastal areas of New South Wales; from Coraki...
Myrsine platystigma is a flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It is a shrub or tree endemic to Lord Howe Island. The specific epithet comes from...
Myrsine variabilis, synonym Rapanea variabilis, known as the muttonwood or variable muttonwood is a tree of eastern Australia. The range of natural distribution...
Salix myrsinifolia, known as the dark-leaved willow or myrsine-leaved willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and Western Siberia. It forms a...
Myrsine cheesemanii, known as the Cook Islands myrsine or ka‘ika makatea (in Mangaia), is a species of shrub within the family Myrsinaceae. It is endemic...
Myrsine fosbergii, the Koolau Range colicwood, is a species of plant in the family Primulaceae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is threatened...