Eugenia (ujenia)

[NL.; in def. 1, named in honor of Prince Eugene of Savoy (died 1736); in def. 2, named from the Empre Eugénie of France. The name Eugene, G. Eugen, F. Eugène, etc., NL. Eugenius, fem. Eugenia, G. Eugenie, F. Eugénie, etc., NL. Eugenia, means 'well-born,' Gr. εὐγενής, well-born: see eugeny.] 1. A genus of myrtaceous shrubs and trees, of over 500 species, which are found in tropical or subtropical America and tropical Asia, with a few species in Africa and Australia. About half a dozen áre found in Florida. The flowers are tetramerous, with numerous stamens, and are followed by a baccate fruit. The leaves are opposite, and often glandular-punctate and fragrant, and the wood is hard and sometimes of value. The most important species is E. caryophyllata, of India, which yields the clove of commerce. (See cut under clove.) Several species bear edible fruits, as the rose-apple ( E. Jam bos ) and the jambolana ( E. Jambolana ), which are cultivated in tropical countries. The astringent bark of the latter is used in dyeing and tanning, and in medicine. Others are cultivated in greenhouses for the beauty of their foliage or flowers. 2. A genus of humming-birds. E. imperatrix is a fine species from Ecuador, green with a violet throat-spot. Gould, 1855.-3. A genus of dipterous insects, of the family Muscidæ. Desvoidy, 1863.