''Myrcia'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of plants in the family
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...
, containing about 765 species as of 2022.
They are distributed in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, with centers of diversity in the Brazilian
Cerrado
The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...
and
Atlantic Forests ecoregions.
''Myrcia'' was first described as a genus in 1827.
[Candolle, Augustin Pyramus de. 1827. Dictionnaire classique d'histoire naturelle 11: 406][Tropicos, ''Myrcia'' DC.]
/ref>
Selected species
Formerly placed here
* '' Plinia cauliflora'' (Mart.) Kausel (as ''M. jaboticaba'' Baill.)
References
External links
Myrtaceae genera
Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle
Flora of the Neotropical realm
{{Myrtaceae-stub