DOWNEY ROSE MYRTLE
Scientific name: Rhodomytrus tomentosa
Family: Myrtaceae/myrtle
Origin: Tropical Asia
Description:
An evergreen shrub reaching to twelve feet in height; leaves are opposite, plain, elliptic-oval, to three inches long, glossy green above and densely soft-hair below, with three main veins from blade base. Flowers profusely in the spring; flowers rose-pink, up to one inch wide, in one or more flowered clusters where leaf is joined to stem. The fruit is a bluish-purple rounded berry about 1/2 inch wide.
Habitat/Ecology:
Occurs primarily in pine flat woods, but has also been found in Florida scrub. Will withstand several degrees of frost and tolerates salt of coastal soils, but sensitive to heavy salt spray. Seeds probably dispersed by birds and mammals. Readily displaces native vegetation, forming dense thickets in the understory.
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