Melastoma sanguineum
Melastoma sanguineum is called red melastome or fox-tongued melastoma in English. They are erect shrubs or small slender trees with medium-sized violet-pink colored flowers with 6 petals that have made them attractive for cultivation. The leaves have the 5 distinctive longitudinal veins (nerves) typical of plants in the family Melastomataceae.
| Melastoma sanguineum | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Melastomataceae |
| Genus: | Melastoma |
| Species: | M. sanguineum |
| Binomial name | |
| Melastoma sanguineum | |
Description
Melastoma sanguineum are erect shrubs or small trees up to 2 to 4 m tall.[2] Leaves are ovate-lanceolate 10 to 20 cm long.
Fruit in the form of berries 15 mm long with 6 cells and many small seeds. Chromosome number 2n = 56.[2]
Distribution
Native to Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Vietnam, and southern China.[2] Occasionally cultivated in Hawaii. Naturalized populations have escaped cultivation and are spreading on Hawaii Island in the Keaukaha area and on the highway from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to Hilo.[2]
Taxonomy
Melastoma sanguineum was first described by John Sims in 1821 (Botanical Magazine 48: pl. 2241).[3]
References
- ITIS - Integrated Taxonomic Information System Report Page Melastoma sanguineum Sims
- Wagner, Warren L.; Herbst, Derral R.; Sohmer, S.H. (1999). Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai`i. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 910–911. ISBN 0-8248-2166-1.
- Tropicos - Missouri Botanical Garden. Name Search > Melastoma sanguineum Sims