Myrtle Family

Cloves are the dried unopen flower bud of an evergreen tree belonging to the Myrtle family. Cloves must be picked just before the blossoms open themselves to have the bud present then the spice is dried in the sun. 

In both the New and Old Worlds many genera of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) unfurl their waxy, leathery leaves. Containing both trees and shrubs, this an-giosperm family takes its name from the shrub Myrtus, which is found near the Mediterranean, in North Africa, and in South America. 

Species of the Myrtaceae are noted for leaf dimorphism the leaves produced when the plants are young tend to be round and held closely to the branch, while leaves produced when the plants are mature are much longer and thinner. Whether juvenile or adult, the leaves of plants in the myrtle family are opposite. Whenever a leaf is found on one side of the stem, another leaf is found on the opposite side. 

The Myrtaceae is commonly subdivided into two subfamilies, the Leptospermoideae, which is distributed mostly in Asia and Africa, and the Myrtoideae, found in tropical America, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific. The myrtle family is best known from Australia. Many species in the genera Eucalyptus, Calliostemon, and Verticordia, among others, are found in Australia. However, many genera such as Psidium are present in the Americas, and Myrtus of the Mediterranean and Northern Africa. The genus Eucalyptus is probably the best known representative of the Myrtaceae. 

Species of the myrtle family provide many valuable products, including timber (e.g. Eucalyptus), essential oils (e.g. allspice), and horticultural plants (e.g. ornamentals such as Verticordia and food plants such as Psidium, guava). 

The myrtle family provides a number of important timber qrecies, including those of the genera Eucalyptus and Melaleuca. Eucalyptus provided the Australian aborigines the oppoitunity to make di es and canoes. The roots of some species were used for food. 

A number of species from the Myrtle family are used horticulturally or decoratively. Attractive flowers... 

Myrtacecz or Myrtle Family.— Rarely herbs Careya) mostly shrubs or trees, some being the tallest trees known Eiicalyptus). Stems often tend to develop cork in flakes which separate much as in the Buttonwoods. Leaves rarely alternate nearly always oppo-... 

The term myrtle, a common name for some species in the genus Myrtus, is also used as a common name for numerous other plants. These are not to be confused with species from the Myrtaceae. The best known plant called a myrtle, which is not a member of the Myrtaceae, may be the popular garden plant, crepe myrtle, (Lager-stroemia indica), of the Lythraceae or loosestrife family. 

Some readers may know catharanthus roseus as Madagascar or Common periwinkle and both species are sometimes called myrtle. Regardless of the name applied it is an evergreen herb in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae) that was originally from the island of Madagascar. 

Myrtaceae (myrtle), and Rutaceae (citrus) plant families. Table 1 provides examples of a few of the better known essential oils, the plants from which they are derived, and the major constituents found in each of these oils. It is important to note that the composition of these oils can vary dramatically, even within species. Factors impacting the composition include the part of the plant from which the oil is extracted (i.e., leaf tissue, fruits, stem, etc.), the phenological state of the plant, the season, the climate, the soil type, and other factors. As an example, rosemary oil collected from plants in two areas of Italy were demonstrated to vary widely in the concentrations of two major constituents, 1,8-cineole (7% to 55%) and a-pinene (11% to 30%) [6]. Such variation is not uncommon and has also been described for the oils derived from Ocimum basilicum [7] and Myrtus communis [8]. 

Myrtle (Myrtus communis) is an evergreen shrub, the essential oil of which is much prized in perfumery. On the other hand, myrrh (Hebrew murr = bitter) refers to the resin of the tree Commiphora myrrha, from the balscim family, which is used in embalming. 

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