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Syzygium myrtifolium is a common tree we see planted along many public roads in Malaysia. It is regularly pruned to bring out the most striking feature, its colourful foliage. Eugenia trees are suitable as topiaries as they can be shaped into a boxed or compact form. The leaf shoots are orange-red and they change colour to yellow, pale green and then dark green as they mature.
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How often do we find such trees, with leaves the colour of autumn in Malaysia?
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This is not a common sight but do you know that when matured, Eugenia trees will bloom very beautifully? The flowering can be intense with the whole tree bursting forth with blossoms.
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The blossoms look like exploding fireworks.
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The flowers attract many butterflies, honey bees and carpenter bees, wasps and hornets.
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The tree is easy to grow since it is a native plant. It is found naturally in swamp forests along the coastal regions. Now we urbanites can find these trees along the city streets, public parks, gardens and many residential homes. They are often used as a hedging plant or ornamental tree, also sculptured into topiaries or even made into bonsai.
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The powder-puff flowers with no petals but many very conspicuous filamentous stamens.
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Scientific name: Syzygium myrtifolium
Synonym: Eugenia oleina
Family: Myrtaceae (Myrtle family)
Origin: Indigenous tree of Malaysia and Thailand
Category: Shrubby evergreen small tree
Common names: Wild Cinnamon, Red-lip, Australian Brush Cherry, Kelat Oil
Chinese name: 红楠木 (Chinese cedar, Chinese red-wood)
Malay name: Pokok Kelat Paya, Ubah Laut (East Malaysia)
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The flowers are lightly scented but the fragrance is hardly noticeable.
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The flowers are borne in clusters.
The plant featured here has creamy white flowers.
There is another cultivar with red leaf shoots and red flowers.
The plant featured here has creamy white flowers.
There is another cultivar with red leaf shoots and red flowers.
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The leaves gives out a mild cinnamon scent when crushed.
The fruits look like berries. They ripen from green to dark red and they attract birds.
Now, I'd like to thank 2 Beautiful Bloggers for giving me a BBA (Beautiful Blogger Award):
1. Ash of Houris in the Garden blog - her post is here.
2. Stiletto of Stiletto blog - her post is here.
YAY!
Now, I'd like to thank 2 Beautiful Bloggers for giving me a BBA (Beautiful Blogger Award):
1. Ash of Houris in the Garden blog - her post is here.
2. Stiletto of Stiletto blog - her post is here.
YAY!
I love the blooms- fireworks indeed! How neat that the berries smell like cinnamon!
ReplyDeleteI live in a community where there are rows of these trees on both sides of the road leading to my house. They are always nicely pruned so I never knew that there bear such lovely flowers and berries. Thanks for the enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely,elegant tree!
ReplyDeleteMa śliczne kwiaty i liście w kolorach naszej jesieni. Pozdrawiam.
ReplyDeleteIt has beautiful flowers and leaves in the colors of our fall. Yours.
beautiful tree indeed...love the berries foto
ReplyDeleteI bet your local birds love them. We have similar trees here from the syzygium. I really like them.
ReplyDeleteNever notice the flowers and berries before.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this additional info.
I have always admire this plant.
Truly our one and only autumn cheers :)
Though common, I like the eugenia - very versatile and the different colours gives the plant a lift!
ReplyDeleteOh Autumn Belle, thanks so much for this post as I didn't know this gets to be this big. I only see very well-manicured topiaries here. And when my sister's plant is already growing big i told her that its beauty is in the newly growing reddish shoots, so she pruned hers. The flowers really look like our 'duhat' or Zyzygium cumini. Do you know if the berries can also be eaten?
ReplyDeleteAndrea, like Missy said, I guess the birds can eat the berries. The berries are rather small, much smaller than those of Syzygium cumini. Even without flowers, the foliage is beautiful enough.
DeleteWhat great photos. Love the shots you got.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
A beautiful tree. The flowers are quite striking, wow.
ReplyDeleteOhhh, I had no idea these trees had flowers. Love this write-up.
ReplyDeleteQuite a tree! Has beautiful blooming and smells good and looks great!
ReplyDeleteI do love all your photos, such a beautiful tree with those blooms.
ReplyDeleteany advice?.....how to propagate this tree?
ReplyDeletethank you....
By seeds or cuttings, I guess :)
DeleteHi Autumn Belle. Thank yo. this post was very sefl.
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteI live in Puerto Rico, its a very hot zone, i water my Eugenia Orleana 2 times a day
But since its been so hot
The leaves has fall
Is this tree suiteable for Puerto Rico
And how often should water ir?
Also us this tree poisson to pets or human?
Hi Mildred. Puerto Rico is located in the tropics too so I guess you can grow this tree there. Only problem is that this tree really needs a lot of water and it is not drought tolerant. You can water it twice a day during the hot season. I do not know if this tree is poisonous to pets or humans.
DeleteHi, I love Eugenia very much and hardly find the seeds. Do you where to buy the seeds?
ReplyDeleteMalaysian nurseries sell the tree saplings in poly bags. They don't sell the seeds.
Delete