Caesalpinia

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Caesalpinia
Starr 061111-1568 Caesalpinia pulcherrima.jpg
Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Tribe: Caesalpinieae
Genus: Caesalpinia
 Plum. ex L. (1853)
Type species
Caesalpinia brasiliensis
L. [1]
Species [2]

10; see text

Synonyms [2]
  • CampeciaAdans. (1763), nom. superfl.
  • PoinciaNeck. (1790), opus utique oppr.
  • PoincianaTourn. ex L. (1753)
  • RadackiaCham. & Endl. (1836)

Caesalpinia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes 10 species which range from southeastern Mexico through Central America to Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and to Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Bahamas. [2]

Contents

Taxonomy

Historically, membership within the genus has been highly variable, with different publications including anywhere from 70 to 165 species, depending largely on the inclusion or exclusion of species alternately listed under genera such as Hoffmannseggia . It contains tropical or subtropical woody plants. The generic name honours the botanist, physician, and philosopher Andrea Cesalpino (1519–1603). [3]

The genus also had a synonym of Poinciana; it was named after a common name for the one species which was placed in now named Delonix regia , after Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy, who was the French governor of the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts. [4] The name Caesalpiniaceae at family level, or Caesalpinioideae at the level of subfamily, is based on this generic name.

Species

10 species are currently accepted: [2]

Uses

Some species are grown for their ornamental flowers.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caesalpinioideae</span> Subfamily of legumes

Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name Caesalpinia. It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily. The Caesalpinioideae are mainly trees distributed in the moist tropics, but include such temperate species as the honeylocust and Kentucky coffeetree. It has the following clade-based definition:

The most inclusive crown clade containing Arcoa gonavensisUrb. and Mimosa pudicaL., but not Bobgunnia fistuloides(Harms) J. H. Kirkbr. & Wiersema, Duparquetia orchidaceaBaill., or Poeppigia proceraC.Presl

Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy was a French nobleman and Bailiff Grand Cross of the Knights of Malta. He governed the island of Saint Christopher from 1639 to his death in 1660, first under the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique and later under the Knights of Malta themselves. Poincy was the key figure in the Hospitaller colonization of the Americas.

<i>Paubrasilia</i> Species of plant in the family Fabaceae

Paubrasilia echinata is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. It is a Brazilian timber tree commonly known as Pernambuco wood or brazilwood and is the national tree of Brazil. This plant has a dense, orange-red heartwood that takes a high shine, and it is the premier wood used for making bows for stringed instruments. The wood also yields a historically important red dye called brazilin, which oxidizes to brazilein.

<i>Delonix</i> Genus of flowering plants in the bean family Fabaceae

Delonix is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It contains trees that are native to Madagascar and East Africa. By far the best known species is the Royal Poinciana.

<i>Delonix regia</i> Species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae

Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae native to Madagascar. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of orange-red flowers over summer. In many tropical parts of the world it is grown as an ornamental tree. It is a non-nodulating legume.

<i>Plumeria</i> Genus of flowering plants endemic to the Americas

Plumeria, also known as frangipani, is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, of the family Apocynaceae. Most species are deciduous shrubs or small trees. The species are native to the Neotropical realm, but are often grown as cosmopolitan ornamentals in tropical regions, especially in Hawaii, as well as hot desert climates in the Arabian Peninsula with proper irrigation.

<i>Manilkara</i> Genus of trees

Manilkara is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A close relative is the genus Pouteria.

<i>Myrica</i> Genus of flowering plants

Myrica is a genus of about 35–50 species of small trees and shrubs in the family Myricaceae, order Fagales. The genus has a wide distribution, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, and missing only from Antarctica and Oceania. Some botanists split the genus into two genera on the basis of the catkin and fruit structure, restricting Myrica to a few species, and treating the others in Morella.

<i>Biancaea sappan</i> Species of legume

Biancaea sappan is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical Asia. Common names in English include sappanwood and Indian redwood. It was previously ascribed to the genus Caesalpinia. Sappanwood is related to brazilwood, and was itself called brasilwood in the Middle Ages.

<i>Libidibia coriaria</i> Species of legume

Libidibia coriaria, synonym Caesalpinia coriaria, is a leguminous tree or large shrub native to the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and northern and western South America. Common names include divi-divi, cascalote, guaracabuya, guatapana, nacascol, tan yong, and watapana (Aruba).

<i>Caesalpinia pulcherrima</i> Species of plant

Caesalpinia pulcherrima is a species of flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to the tropics and subtropics of the Americas. It could be native to the West Indies, but its exact origin is unknown due to widespread cultivation. Common names for this species include poinciana, peacock flower, red bird of paradise, Mexican bird of paradise, dwarf poinciana, pride of Barbados, flos pavonis, and flamboyant-de-jardin. The Hawaiian name for this plant is ʻohai aliʻi.

<i>Sideroxylon</i> Genus of trees

Sideroxylon is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. They are collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος (sideros), meaning "iron", and ξύλον (xylon), meaning "wood."

<i>Amyris</i> Genus of flowering plants

Amyris is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word αμυρων, which means "intensely scented" and refers to the strong odor of the resin. Members of the genus are commonly known as torchwoods because of their highly flammable wood.

<i>Erythrostemon mexicanus</i> Species of legume

Erythrostemon mexicanus, formerly Caesalpinia mexicana, is a species of plant in the genus Erythrostemon, within the pea family, Fabaceae. Common names include Mexican holdback, Mexican caesalpinia, and tabachín del monte. It is native to the extreme lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and to parts of Mexico: in the northeast and further south along the Gulf coast as well as the Pacific coast in Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, and a small portion of Sinaloa.

<i>Leucothrinax</i> Genus of palms

Leucothrinax morrisii, the Key thatch palm, is a small palm which is native to the Greater Antilles, northern Lesser Antilles, The Bahamas and Florida and the Florida Keys in the United States.

<i>Piscidia</i> Genus of legumes

Piscidia is a genus of flowering plants in subfamily Faboideae of the family Fabaceae. It includes seven species of trees, and rarely shrubs, native to the tropical Americas, ranging from northern Mexico and Florida through Central America and the Caribbean to Venezuela and Peru. Typical habitats include seasonally-dry tropical forest, woodland, and bushland, often on rocky hills, with some species restricted to limestone substrates.

<i>Hultholia</i> Genus of legumes

Hultholia mimosoides is a liana species and the sole species in the genus Hultholia. It was formerly placed in the genus Caesalpinia but phylogenetic studies identified the group to be polyphyletic, leading the placement of Caesalpinia mimosoides in a new genus, Hultholia in the tribe Caesalpinieae. Its distribution includes: Bangladesh, Yunnan in China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

<i>Guilandina</i> Genus of legumes

Guilandina is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Caesalpinioideae and tribe Caesalpinieae.

<i>Arquita</i> Genus of legumes

Arquita is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It includes five species, which range from Ecuador to northern Argentina.

Denisophytum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to subfamily Caesalpinioideae and tribe Caesalpinieae. It includes eight species, which have a disjunct distribution – northern Mexico, Florida and the Caribbean, southern South America, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Madagascar.

References

  1. "Caesalpinia L." TROPICOS. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Caesalpinia Plum. ex L. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  3. Gledhill, David (2008). The Names of Plants (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 83. ISBN   978-0-521-86645-3.
  4. Rice, Diana (8 May 1938). "Poinciana Trees on the Island of St. Kitts". Notes For The Traveler. The New York Times. p. 171.