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Australian Myrtaceae

Myrtaceae is a large family of aromatic plants, distributed throughout tropical and warm-temperate regions. Around 70 genera occur in Australia, with over 1400 species including the iconic Australian genera Melaleuca and Eucalyptus. One species Eucalyptus regnans, is the tallest flowering plant in the world, with one individual tree in Tasmania, aptly nicknamed ‘the Centurion’, measuring over 100m tall! The Myrtaceae held great importance to the daily lives of Aboriginal people with the wood and bark of both Melaleuca and Eucalyptus used in the creation of shields, spear throwers and food utensils. Roots from mallee Eucalypts were used as a source of water. Elsewhere across the globe Myrtaceae provides us with internationally recognised culinary delights such as guava, allspice and clove.

We have now digitised all our Australian flowering plant specimens and need your help to unlock the data they hold for use by researchers around the globe.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s extensive Herbarium numbers nearly three million specimens representing half to two thirds of the world's flora. It is considered a leading botanical collection, and every year many researchers from around the world visit to study our specimens.