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Plant Species of the genus Acmena
Information about this genus
Name: Acmena
Cultivation: CULTIVATION: Only the three most southerly Acmena species are widely cultivated, valued for their profuse display of fruit and glossy foliage. They prefer a mild humid climate, a sheltered but sunny position and deep, well-drained soil. In some situations the foliage may be disfigured by sooty mold, and if the tree is large it may not be practicable to control this. Propagation is normally from seed, but some selected forms of Acmena smithii are perpetuated from cuttings.
Description: Fifteen species make up this genus of evergreen rainforest trees, native to eastern Australia and New Guinea. Like those of the closely related Syzygium, all Acmena species were once included in Eugenia, but that name is now restricted almost entirely to American species. Acmenas have simple smooth-edged leaves, and small white flowers are borne in panicles terminating the branches. They are followed by globular fruit with crisp watery flesh enclosing a harder but still fleshy seed. A cavity at the fruit apex has a sharp circular rim, from which the sepals are shed as the fruit matures, a feature that distinguishes the genus from Syzygium in which the sepals persist. Acmena fruits are edible but not very sweet, and have a slight tang from the essential oils present in most members of the myrtle family.
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