Endemic Plant - Eugenia eggersii

Guasábara, Guayabacón (Sp.), (no English common name), Eugenia eggersii (Sci.), endemic plant, Luquillo mountains, Cordillera Central, Puerto Rico.

Information compiled by Alan Mowbray, USDA Forest Service,
El Yunque National Forest – 2010.

General Information:

Group- Magnoliopsida, Order- Myrtales, Family- Myrtaceae, Genus- Eugenia, Species- E. eggersii. A small evergreen tree species endemic to Puerto Rico’s Luquillo Mountains and Cordillera Central (Central Mountain Corridor).

Description:

Guasábara is an evergreen shrub or small tree measuring to 15 feet (4.6 meters) in height, and 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in trunk diameter. It has slender, green, hairless branches which turn brownish as they mature; leaves, 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 centimeters) long are thick, leathery, dark green and slightly shiny on upper surface, shiny yellow on bottom; pointed at tip and blunt at base. Fragrant white flower clusters at leaf base are 0.5 to 1.5 inches (1.2 to 3.8 centimeters) in diameter, flowering in spring and summer. Round, warty fruit is yellow-green, 0.25 inches (0.6 centimeters) in diameter; fruiting in summer.

Habitat:

Rare as understory shrub or small tree in the Icacos River valley of the Luquillo Mountains (El Yunque NF) and Cordillera Central, from 1,000 to 3,000 foot (304 to 914 meter) elevation.

Threats:

This species is listed as Sensitive on the IUCN “Red List” of endangered species.

Additional Information:

Tropical Vegetation Specialist
USDA Forest Service
El Yunque National Forest
HC-01 Box 13490
Rio Grande, PR 00745
Telephone: 787 888 1810

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