Myrtus communis L.
Eng.: Common myrtle. Spa.: Mirto, mirto mediterráneo, arrayán. Fre.: Myrte commun. Ara.: Rihan, rihen, mersin, hbibu, shejret essoker; the fruit: chelmun. Tam.: tarihant.
Shrub, evergreen, hermaphrodite, very aromatic, up to 3 m in height, although sometimes can become a small tree up to 5 m, irregular in shape, but generally erect, very ramose. Stems and old branches with light brown bark, first with glanduliferous hairs, then glabrous. Young branchlets tetragonous, from brown-greenish to reddish, ± hairy. Leaves [(8)10-60 × (4)5-30 mm)] opposite, ovate-lanceolate, acute, attenuate at the base, with entire margin, coriaceous, glabrous or slightly villous along the main veins on the underside; pinnate venation; small glands scattered on both sides, dark green on the upper side and slightly lighter on the underside; petiole 1.5-2.5 mm. Flowers solitary on leaf axils, very aromatic, with long pedicels 15-25 mm. Calyx cupuliform, green, with 5 sepals 1-1.5 mm, ovate, acute. Corolla very showy, white, with 5 petals 7-15 mm in diameter, from suborbicular to obovate, glabrescent or with some cilia. Stamens numerous, 6-10 mm; yellow anthers. Fruit a subglobose berry, 6-10 mm, crowned by persistent sepals, black-blueish, but pruinose, covered with a bluish-white powder. Seeds (2.5-3 mm), reniform, with slightly rough surface, from brown to whitish.
Flowering:
May to August.
Fruiting:
July to November.
Habitat:
Maquis and forests of holm oak (Quercus ilex), kermes oak (Q. coccifera) and especially cork oak (Q. suber), where it can locally become the dominant species after removal of tree layer. Mild climates with abundant humidity. In dry to humid bioclimate, on thermomediterranean and lower mesomediterranean floors.
Distribution:
Mainly in the Mediterranean region, penetrating fairly deeply into the continental Asia Minor. In North Africa it is distributed along the more humid mountain ranges of the N, from the Tingitana Peninsula to the northern third of Tunisia. In NE Libya there is an interesting isolated population in the Akhdar Massif. Its most southern populations are in the Tazekka Massif (northern region of the Middle Atlas).
Conservation status:
Common and widely distributed species. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.