Botanical Family · Myrtales

Myrtaceae

Myrtle/Eucalyptus family

51 speciesOrder Myrtales8+ well-known plants

A family of aromatic trees and shrubs characterised by leaves dotted with essential oil glands. Includes eucalyptus, guava (Psidium), clove (Syzygium aromaticum), and bottlebrushes. The flowers have numerous prominent stamens giving them a feathery appearance.

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Representative specimen · Myrtaceae

Key pattern

Opposite, entire leaves stippled with translucent oil glands that show as pinpricks held to the light; flowers explode with numerous long stamens far showier than the small petals, which some genera shed as a single fused cap.

Essential-oil-rich foliage throughout the family is the source of eucalyptus oil, clove, and allspice; in Eucalyptus the petals and sepals fuse into a cap (operculum) that pops off rather than opening normally.

Identify the species

Which Myrtaceae species is this?

Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Myrtaceae species.

Click a node to trace its path · pinch or scroll to zoom · drag to pan

Flower ColorWhat color are the flowers?

Not sure / other

Red

White

White-cream

Yellow

Flower TypeWhat do the flower clusters look like?

Bottlebrush spike

Fluffy pompom cluster

HabitWhat is the plant's growth form?

Shrub

Tree

Flower TypeWhat do the flower clusters look like?

Bottlebrush spike

Fluffy pompom cluster

Ordinary small clusters

HabitWhat is the plant's growth form?

Shrub

Tree

Bark TextureWhat does the bark look like?

Papery, peeling

Smooth or ordinary

Flower TypeWhat do the flower clusters look like?

Bottlebrush spike

Fluffy pompom cluster

Ordinary small clusters

Fruit ShapeWhat shape is the fruit?

Bell/pear-shaped

Round-oval

Fruit SizeHow large is the fruit?

Large

Small

How to recognise the Myrtaceae family

01
Pellucid oil glands in leaves
02
Numerous showy stamens
03
Berry, capsule, or drupe fruit

Family identification method

To check whether a plant belongs to Myrtaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.

Learn the full family-identification method