MYKTACEAE. 307 



anthesis. Petals 4 or 5, spreading. Stamens numerous, with filiform fila- 

 ments in severa,l series. Ovarj 4-5-cellGd; ovules several or many in each 

 cavity. Berries crowned by the calyx-lobes. Seeds several or many. Embryo 

 curved, with small cotyledons and a long radicle. [Greek, referring to the 

 edible fruit.] A large genus, of which about 100 species have been described, 

 the following typical. 



1. Psidium Guajava L. Sp. PI. 470. 1753. 



Psidium Guava Griseb. Fl. Br. W. I. 241. 1860. 



A shrub, or a small tree, sometimes 5 m. tall, with pubescent 4-angled 

 branchlets. Leaves firm-leathery, oblong or nearly so, 4-8 cm. long, mostly 

 obtuse, pubescent beneath, with prominent rib-like nerves, short-petioled ; 

 calyx-lobes 1-1.5 cm. long, united in the bud; petals 1.5-2 cm. long; berries 

 globular or pyriform, 3-6 cm. in diameter. 



Scrub-lands, roadsides and waste places, spontaneous after cultivation ; planted 

 and spontaneous near towns on all the larger islands : — spontaneous after cultiva- 

 tion in Florida and in Bermuda ; West Indies ; continental tropical America. Guava. 



5. CAIiYPTRANTHES Sw. Prodr. 79. 1788. 



[Chytraculia P. Br. Hist. Jam. 239. Hyponym. 1756.] 



Evergreen shrubs or trees^ with opposite coriaceous or subcoriaceous 

 leaves, and small panicled cymose or rarely solitary flowers. Calyx closed at 

 anthesis, circumscissile, the top falling away like a cap or calyptra. Petals 

 none. Stamens numerous, in several series; filaments filiform; anthers longi- 

 tudinally dishiscent. Ovary 2-3-eelled; ovules 2 in each cavity. Fruit a 

 1-few-seeded berry, crowned by the basal part of the calyx. [Greek, referring 

 to the cap-like lid of the calyx.] About 75 species, of tropical and subtropical 

 America. Type species: Calyptranthes Chytraculia (L.) Sw. 



Inflorescence glabrous ; leaves short-petioled. 1, C. Zuzi/pium. 



Inflorescence tomentulose ; leaves distinctly petioled, 2. C. pall'ens. 



1. Calyptranthes Zuzygium (L.) Sw. Prodr. 79. 1788. 



Myrtus Zuzygium L. Syst. ed. 10, 1056. 1759. 



Chytraculia Susygium Kuntze, Eev. Gen. PI. 1: 238. 1891. 



A tree, up to about 12 m. high, glabrous throughout, the twigs terete, 

 slender. Leaves elliptic, or elliptic-obovate, 4-7 cm. long, abruptly blunt- 

 tipped or obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the base, delicately veined, somewhat 

 shining above, dull beneath, the petioles 3 mm. long or less; panicles mostly 

 somewhat longer than the leaves ; flowers several or many ; pedicels 4-7 mm. 

 long; calyx ovoid, about 4 mm. long, its lid mammillate; berries subglobose, 

 8-10 mm, in diameter. 



Coppices, New Providence at Waterloo ; Andros, near Lisbon Creek : — Florida ; 

 Cuba ; Hispaniola ; Jamaica. Myrtle-of-tiie-Riveu. 



2. Calyptranthes pallens (Poir.) Griseb. Kar. 67. 1857. 



Eugenia 'pallens Poir. in Lam. Encycl. Suppl. 3: 122. 1813. 



A tree, attaining a maximum height of about 10 m., with a trunk some- 

 times 1.5 dm. in diameter, usually smaller and sometimes shrubby, the bark 

 thin and light gray, the young twigs pubescent, soon becoming glabrous. 

 Leaves elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 3-8 cm. long, acuminate at the apex, nar- 



