The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Myrtus
Myrtus is a small genus in the myrtle family with two accepted species, the common myrtle (Myrtus communis) and the Saharan myrtle. Common myrtle is the one most often grown, as a fragrant evergreen shrub in sunny, well-drained spots.
Myrtus (commonly called myrtle) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. It was first described by Swedish botanist Linnaeus in 1753. Myrtle was described much earlier in Leviticus, as part of the feast and observance of Sukkot. It has long been used as a medicinal herb in traditional practices.
Over 600 names have been proposed in the genus, but nearly all have either been moved to other genera or been regarded as synonyms. Two species are currently accepted:
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Myrtus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
