Henoonia myrtifolia is a small, drought-adapted tree or woody shrub up to 2.5 meters tall that grows exclusively in lowland habitats of central Cuba at elevations up to 300 meters. Its specific epithet myrtifolia means "myrtle-leaved," describing its small, leathery, narrowly ovate leaves with rolled edges that closely resemble the foliage of true myrtles rather than typical nightshades.
First described in 1866 by August Heinrich Rudolf Grisebach in his Catalogus Plantarum Cubensium, it is the sole species in the monotypic genus Henoonia (also recorded under the historical synonym Bissea myrtifolia). Because of its unusual wood and seed anatomy, botanists long placed it in a separate family (Goetzeaceae) before DNA analysis confirmed its home within the nightshade family (Solanaceae), subfamily Goetzeoideae.
Henoonia myrtifolia grows as a compact tree up to 2.5 meters high with grayish bark and branches that occasionally bear defensive spines. The small, stiff leaves are narrowly ovate, obovate-elliptic, or narrowly obovate, with an acute or sharp-tipped (mucronate) apex and a wedge-shaped, oblique, or slightly heart-shaped base.
Five-parted flowers emerge singly or in small clusters directly from the branching nodes between May and October. The cup-shaped calyx is 2 to 2.5 mm long and tipped with triangular, sparsely hairy teeth.
Fruiting takes place from June to October, yielding an ovoid, pointed fruit that departs dramatically from the multi-seeded berries of most nightshades. Each fruit contains a single large, ovoid seed measuring 7 to 8 mm long, 5.3 to 6.4 mm wide, and 5.0 to 5.7 mm thick.
Blooms from May to October, while the single-seeded fruits mature concurrently from June to October.
When most people picture the nightshade family (Solanaceae), they think of soft-leaved herbs like tomatoes and potatoes carrying juicy berries packed with hundreds of tiny seeds. Henoonia myrtifolia is so thoroughly modified for life in Cuba's dry coastal and lowland scrublands (between sea level and 300 meters) that even seasoned taxonomists debated its family tree for over a century.
Every structural detail of this island endemic is tuned to conserve water and guarantee seedling survival in rocky, sun-drenched soils. Instead of broad, tender blades, the plant produces tiny, tough leaves (under 3.3 cm long) whose margins roll tightly downward (revolute margins), shielding the underside breathing pores and sparse two- to three-celled trichomes from desiccating trade winds.
Taxon Synonyms: Henoonia angustifolia, Castela brittonii, Henoonia brittonii
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