Syzygium paniculatum Gaertn.

Tropical cherry eugenia, magenta lilly pilly, magenta cherry, brush cherry

Tropical cherry eugenia—or, if you prefer, the marvelously silly Australian name “magenta lilly pilly”—is a bushy rainforest tree from New South Wales. The latter name derives from the related and similar lillypilly (Acmena smithii), another rainforest species. Tropical cherry eugenia is considered a vulnerable species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999. One source says these are native to Florida, but I speculate that they are naturalized there, not native. This species make a great bonsai. Crossword puzzle fanatics take note: syzygy is the only word in the dictionary with three ys and no other vowels.

Plants: This is a tropical rain forest species, a shrub or small tree up to 49′ (15 m) tall and up to 1′ (35 cm) around, with flaky bark.

Leaves: Opposite, lanceolate or elliptic, 1–3½″ (3–9 cm) long, an attractive reddish color when young, turning bright, shiny green.

Flowers: Showy white flowers resem­bling pom poms

Fruits: Fleshy magenta-colored ovoid fruits up to ¾″ (2 cm) long have a large seed.

Habitats: Seashore and subtropical rainforests of the central coast of New South Wales.

Edibility: Fruits are edible, and made in jams.

Online References:

Older scientific or horticultural names

Syzygium paniculatum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.