Myrtaceae is a family of woody flowering plants with approximately 5500 species divided into 144 genera and 17 tribes. In this family, the tribe Myrteae includes half of the family's biodiversity, with 51 genera and approximately 2500 species found primarily in the Neotropics. Myrtus is the only genus found in Europe, North Africa, Asia, and especially in the Mediterranean region of southern Europe as far west as Macaronesia (Madeira and the Azores), the Saharan mountains, and as far east as western Asia (