On Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, botanists discovered Eugenia venteri, an 18-meter-tall tree with unusual whip-like stems that run along the trunk and ground, bearing small white flowers and fruit close to the forest floor.
Its nearly spherical, ridged fruit reportedly tastes like a mix of banana, guava, and eucalyptus, and the species may have evolved this unusual fruiting strategy to attract pollinators and seed dispersers such as giant ground rats.
This discovery is a striking example of how plants can evolve highly specialized relationships with animals and habitats, revealing new layers of biodiversity in tropical forests.
It also highlights how much remains to be learned from remote island ecosystems and the botanists who work to document them.
Reference: Eugenia venteri (sect. Jossinia, Myrtaceae): a new flagelliflorous tree from the rainforest of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Low et al 2025 Kew Bulletin (2025) 80:733–743