Syzygium guineese

taxobox
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Myrtales
familia = Myrtaceae
genus = "Syzygium"
species = "S. guineese"
binomial = "Syzygium guineese"
binomial_authority = Wall.|

"Syzgium guineense" is a leafy forest tree of the Myrtaceae family, found in many parts of Africa both wild and domesticated. Both its fruits and leaves are edible; the pulp and the fruit skin are sucked and the seed discarded.

Its height is usually between 10 and 15 meters, but some specimens have been found as tall as 25 meters. The trunk is broad and fluted and the crown rounded and heavy, with a bark that is smooth when young, but becomes rough and black with age. The branches are dropping, the stems are thick and angular. The young leaves are purple-red in color, but as they mature their color becomes dark green; the leaves in general are shiny and smooth on both surfaces, with a tip that is long but rounded, on a short grooved stalk. The flowers of "S. guineense" have white, showy stamens, in dense branched heads 10 centimeters across, yielding a honey-sweet smell that attracts many insects.

In southern Ethiopia "S. guineense" is a much-appreciated shade tree for both the homestead and the home garden. Wild forms occur from sea level to an altitude of 2,100 meters. It prefers moist soils with a high water table beside rivers, but this species will also grow in open woodland. [ [http://www.africa.upenn.edu/faminefood/category2/cat2_Syzigium_guineense.htm "Wild Food" Plans with "Famine Foods" Components: Syzgium guineense] (Famine Food Guide website)]

Notes