Excerpts from Jim Conrad's
Naturalist Newsletter

from the June 22, 2007 with notes from road in uplands 3 or 4 kms west of San Juan de los Durán (N21.46°, W99.23°), Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, QUERÉTARO, MÉXICO
MYRSINE CORIACEAE ssp. CORIACEA

At the risk of over-treeing you, I have to mention one more small tree that really caught my eye while hiking through the upland juniper forest. When you see its picture you'll understand why. It's below:

MYRSINE CORIACEAE ssp. CORIACEA.

The excellent thing about this 10-ft-tall tree is that its fruits, which have the size, color and wrinkledness of store-bought peppercorns, cluster abundantly and closely along the stems. The only other tree I know to do this is the US Southeast's Waxmyrtle, which belongs to an entirely different family.

*UPDATE: In 2024, Plants of the World Online lists the name Rapanea ferruginea as a synonym for MYRSINE CORIACEAE ssp. CORIACEA. Our plant's name is Myrisne coriaceae ssp. coriaceae.

The plant in the picture is RAPANEA FERRUGINEA*, a member of the Myrsine Family, a not-much-known family restricted to the tropics and subtropics. Apparently it has no common English name.