Genus Schinus.
In Family Anacardiaceae > Subfamily Anacardioideae they come from Central and South America.
Plants of the World Online recognises 34 species of Pepper trees.
They are evergreen tall shrubs or trees sometimes with weeping branches.
The alternately arranged leaves are pinnate with a single terminal leaflet.
The leaflets are typically opposite but some may be sub-opposite or alternate.
The leaf midrib may be winged and the leaflet edges can be smooth or toothed.
Stems and leaves may have microscopic simple hairs.
Even in a single species the the leaf features vary.
Branched inflorescences are terminal or in the near terminal leaf axils.
Male and female flowers are on the same or different plants.
There may also be some bisexual flowers.
The midrib, bracts, pedicels, sepals and petals may have no hairs or microscopic simple and/or glandular ones.
The hairs can be sparse to dense and at least 1 species has dense brown hairs on the leaves and inflorescences.
All flowers have 4 or 5 sepals and the same number of mostly white petals.
They also have a nectiferous disc with lobes that alternate with the stamens.
Male flowers have 8 or 10 stamens and a rudimentary or no ovary.
In female flowers the stamens are reduced to small infertile staminodes.
Female flowers have a superior ovary with 1 locule and a long or short style with 3 stigma lobes.
The fruit are drupes with a fleshy layer around a single seed with a hard coat.
Two species have been used as ornamental plants and they have become invasive weeds in parts of Queensland.
J.F.
