Plant ID Help Please!

[KarenaAJ]

Hello,

I'm in the UK but work in a tropical house which houses a big variety of palms, ficus, philodendrons, monstera - anything that wouldn't survive outdoors in our climate! This forum and website has proven really helpful in working out how to tackle some of them so I'm hoping for a little more help.

I've been pruning lots of it as it's not had much done with it for probably a decade, but one tree has me totally stumped. Anyone have any ideas what this could be? The bark is really distinctive but I've not got a clue where to start. It's sadly not a very healthy specimen so I'm taking cuttings as future insurance, but it'd be nice to know what it is.

The leaves are are roughly 8cm/3 inches long.

Thanks in advance 🙂

[Merlyn]

@KarenaAJ welcome to PalmTalk!  The bark reminds me of a eucalyptus, just because they shed it randomly all the time.  The leaves don't look quite the same though, at least not the same as the "rainbow eucalyptus" down the street.  I usually wait for @Silas_Sancona to chime in with a positive ID and then nod my head and say to myself, "yep, that looks right!" 

[Silas_Sancona]

44 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

@KarenaAJ welcome to PalmTalk!  The bark reminds me of a eucalyptus, just because they shed it randomly all the time.  The leaves don't look quite the same though, at least not the same as the "rainbow eucalyptus" down the street.  I usually wait for @Silas_Sancona to chime in with a positive ID and then nod my head and say to myself, "yep, that looks right!" 

  ..Been trying to figure this one out all afternoon while waiting on a special delivery.. 


@KarenaAJ

After ruling out stuff like Camellia ( Leaf shape and glossy-ness of them come close,  Lack of a serrated or toothy looking leaf margin / bark character don't..   Stewartia  sps can possess similar looking bark patterning,  but leaves look different  and -as far as i'm aware-  most sps in that Genus are nekked this time of the year. Not really tropical either, if i remember right ( No worries if wrong ).. 🤔


There are likely other obvious families / Genus i'm forgetting right now that might fit, but, ..first thoughts,  -beyond the initial musings above-,   would lead me towards looking into something else within the Myrtle family that possesses similar bark and leaf characteristics and is considered cold sensitive enough that it would have to be grown in a greenhouse there.. 

Any flowers / fruit observed on it at all? Leaves possess any detectable scent when handled / crushed?

[SEVA]

Could it be strawberry-guava (Psidium cattleyanum) or something related? Just a guess.

[kukras]

On 1/13/2025 at 9:09 PM, KarenaAJ said:

Hello,

I'm in the UK but work in a tropical house which houses a big variety of palms, ficus, philodendrons, monstera - anything that wouldn't survive outdoors in our climate! This forum and website has proven really helpful in working out how to tackle some of them so I'm hoping for a little more help.

I've been pruning lots of it as it's not had much done with it for probably a decade, but one tree has me totally stumped. Anyone have any ideas what this could be? The bark is really distinctive but I've not got a clue where to start. It's sadly not a very healthy specimen so I'm taking cuttings as future insurance, but it'd be nice to know what it is.

The leaves are are roughly 8cm/3 inches long.

Thanks in advance 🙂

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I also think its a strawberry-guava. Looks kinda similar to it.

[Josue Diaz]

The bark screams psidium to me... and the leaves look similar to strawberry guava. Flowers and/or fruit would help with a positive ID.

[KarenaAJ]

Thank you everyone for your help! Apologies for the delay in replying, it's been a hectic week.

Silas, I thought it looked like a Camellia Stewartia too initially, but the leaves didn't match unfortunately, though the bark is spot on!

I think the leaves are too large to be either a myrtle or a psidium? Unless there's cultivars that have larger leaves that I'm missing?

I've never seen it in flower unfortunately - I'm hoping now the blinds have been repaired and we can finally get some sunlight in, it might encourage some flowering!

[Silas_Sancona]

6 minutes ago, KarenaAJ said:

Thank you everyone for your help! Apologies for the delay in replying, it's been a hectic week.

Silas, I thought it looked like a Camellia Stewartia too initially, but the leaves didn't match unfortunately, though the bark is spot on!

I think the leaves are too large to be either a myrtle or a psidium? Unless there's cultivars that have larger leaves that I'm missing?

I've never seen it in flower unfortunately - I'm hoping now the blinds have been repaired and we can finally get some sunlight in, it might encourage some flowering!

No worries...


Leaves might be too big for something like regular ol' Myrtle ( ...Say M. communis ) perhaps, but  Eugenia for instance, contains numerous species that can have good sized, glossy leaves,  and a similar patterning of the trunk / branches..  Same with other Myrtle - family genus like Syzyginum,  Plina / Myrciaria,  ..and / other Psidium sps.

  Hopefully getting more light on it will encourage flowering / potential fruit development so it will be easier to key out..

Gotta love when the ID of a plant whose lost it's tag decides to live rent free in one's mind for a little while,  haha  ..Happens to me all the time..

[KarenaAJ]

Thank you, that's really helpful! I'll try and have a hunt around for some ideas and have another look next week. I hate not knowing what it is!!