Throughout its range, this species displays significant, but inconsistent, local variation in the degree of vestiture of the young twigs, inflorescences and flowers, and in the size and shape of the leaves, leading to the large number of synonyms. The more robust trees in Florida, with buttressed base and more floriferous inflorescences (10-14 flowers) have at times been recognized as var. simpsonii[].

Common Name: Guayabillo

General Information

Myrcianthes fragrans is an evergreen shrub or a tree with a compact crown; it can reach 30 metres tall, though is more usually less than 15 metres tall[]. The trunk occasionally reaches 15cm in diameter[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It is grown as an ornamental, valued for its attractive displays of white, snowflake-like aromatic flowers, its red fruit, flaking reddish bark, and aromatic, lustrous, evergreen leaves[].
Myrcianthes fragrans is widespread throughout much of tropical America and in many areas is threatened by deforestation. Although the overall population size and trend of this species are unknown, it seems to be very frequent throughout its range and is not currently threatened on a global level. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, through C. America to Mexico; Caribbean - Grenada to Cuba and Bahamas; southeast N. America - Florida

Habitat

Wet forest, cloud forest and oak forests[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	4.00 m
Pollinators	Butterflies, Bees, Insects
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Myrcianthes fragrans is found from subtropical to tropical habitats and is known to tolerate some frost, surviving unharmed with occasional short-lived drops in temperature to around -4°c.
Succeeds in full sun to fairly deep shade. Succeeds in a range of soils from mildly acid to alkaline, it is tolerant of some salt in the soil, very tolerant of drought and also able to withstand occasionally waterlogged soils.
The flowers are aromatic[].
Plants can flower and produce fruit all year round[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[, ]. An agreeable, aromatic flavour[]. The small, round, orange to red berries are highly variable in flavour, ranging from bitter to pleasantly tart with an unusual turpentine-like aftertaste, to sweet with little aftertaste when fully ripe[]. The fruits are also used in making a brandy[]. The globose fruit is around 6 - 15mm in diameter, containing 2 or more seeds[, ].

The leaves are used to make a fragrant tea[].

Medicinal

The plant is used in Peru in the treatment of rheumatic pain and for flu and labour pains in the Bahamas and the Caicos Islands, where it is also used to treat fevers[].

An extract of the leaves has shown promising antibacterial activity[].

Other Uses

The tiny, deep green leaves contain aromatic oils with the fragrance of nutmeg.
The plant is aromatic and is used as a perfume[].

The heartwood is light brown or red, the sapwood is yellow. The wood is close-grained, compact, hard and very heavy. It is used for construction and tools, such as pestles, blown darts and axe handles[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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