Syzygium australe
brush cherry
A stalwart of California landscapes of yesteryear, brush cherry performs splendidly both as a clipped hedge and as an erect, narrow-crowned tree. Glossy green leaves about 2 inches long emerge tinged in red. The visual impact of the white flowers lies entirely in their dense brush of stamens, as in other members of the myrtle family such as Lophostemon and Eucalyptus. The small white petals are present but inconspicuous. The fruit is a purple-red berry with crunchy flesh; the flavor is mild, even insipid, though pleasantly juicy. It is tastiest when dark purple and can be found on the tree for much of the year – a fun nibble when out in the bush (or on a campus stroll). New foliage is often distorted and stunted, a hallmark in California of the eugenia psyllid, a now-widespread pest.
Towering specimens can be seen in the northwest courtyard of the Outer Quad, especially at the end nearest Memorial Court. Sizeable examples are on the right side of the entrance to Bechtel International Center. Two immense trees, each about 2 feet across, are at 619 Mayfield Avenue. The small courtyard at Geology Corner, now called Thomas Church Garden, has a clipped hedge of brush cherry along its east side, specified by Church himself in his 1960s plan for the area. He used the name Eugenia myrtifolia, an older name misapplied to S. australe. Another name erroneously used for the species has been Eugenia paniculata (or S. paniculatum), a rare species only occasionally found in California.
The word syzygy – unique in having three y’s and no other vowels – refers to the alignment of three celestial bodies, such as during an eclipse. It comes from the Greek word for yoke or union, the same root that gives us conjugal. It likely refers to the pairwise arrangement of the leaves of this and related plants, another typical feature of the myrtle family.
Name derivation: Syzygium – see text; australe – southern.
About this Entry: Authored Feb 2025 by Sairus Patel. Updated Feb 2026 (SP).
