724 



Stoppers 



They have opposite, usually leather}-, feather- veined entire leaves, without stip- 

 ules. The inflorescence is centripetal, the flowers variously clustered, or soli- 

 tar}-, with small bracts and bractlets. The calyx-tube is globose to top-shaped, 

 the lobes 4 or 5 ; the petals are inserted on the margin of the disk, usually 4, 

 rarely 5, spreading; stamens many, their fllaments thread-like, separate, in several 

 rows, or sHghtly united at the base into 4 groups, the anthers versatile ; ovar}' ses- 

 sile, 2- to 3-celled, with several ovules in each cell; style simple and thread-Hke, 

 tciTninated by a stigmatic tip. The fruit a pulpy, dr}-ish, or leathery berr\% capped 

 by the persistent calyx; seeds i to 4, globose or variously flattened. 



The name is in honor of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), an Austrian 

 general and patron of botany and horticulture. 



The species that arc known to occur in our area all become arborescent. 



Flowers in short racemes. 



Leaves oblong to cuneate-obovate; fruit longer than broad. 

 Leaves ovate to elliptic; fruit broader than long. 

 Flowers solitar}' or umbellate. 



Peduncles shorter than the leaves. 



Leaves acute or subacuminate; fruit thicker than long. 

 Leaves abruptly acuminate; fruit about as long as thick. 

 Peduncles longer than the leaves. 



1. E. buxijolia. 



2. E. axillaris. 



3. E. rhombea. 



4. E. conjusa. 



5. E. longipes. 



I. SPANISH STOPPER Eugenia buxifoUa (Swartz) Willdenow 



Myrtiis buxijolia Swartz. Myrtiis axillaris Poiret, not Swartz 



Also called Gurgeon stopper; this small tree or shrub of the West Indies enters 

 our area in southern peninsular Florida and the Keys, where it grows in sandy or 



rocky soil and attains a 

 height of 6 meters, with a 

 trunk diameter of 3 dm. 



The bark is about 3 

 mm. thick, light reddish 

 brown, and scaly. The 

 twigs are round, slender, 

 with reddish hairs, soon 

 becoming smooth, gray or 

 reddish grav. The leaves 

 are leather}-, oblong to 

 obovate, 2 to 3 cm. long, 

 blunt at the apex, taper- 

 ing at the base to the short 

 petiole, entire on the revo- 

 lute margin, deep green 

 above, yellowish green and black dotted beneath. The flowers expand at nearly 



Fig. 663. Spanish Stopper. 



