Ceiba is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to 70 m (230 ft) tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, and buttress roots that can be taller than a grown person. The best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, Ceiba pentandra, one of several trees known as kapok. Ceiba is a word from the Taíno language meaning "boat" because Taínos use the wood to build their dugout canoes.
Alternanthera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a widespread genus with most species occurring in the tropical Americas, and others in Asia, Africa, and Australia. Plants of the genus may be known generally as joyweeds, or Joseph's coat. Several species are notorious noxious weeds.
The Gomphrenoideae are a subfamily of the Amaranthaceae.
Celosia is a small genus of edible and ornamental plants in the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae. Its species are commonly known as woolflowers, or, if the flower heads are crested by fasciation, cockscombs. The plants are well known in East Africa's highlands and are used under their Swahili name, mfungu.
Pouteria is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. The genus is widespread throughout the tropical Americas, with outlier species in Cameroon and Malesia. It includes the canistel, the mamey sapote, and the lucuma. Commonly, this genus is known as pouteria trees, or in some cases, eggfruits.
Mayaca is a genus of flowering plants, often placed in its own family, the Mayacaceae. In the APG II system of 2003, it is assigned to the order Poales in the clade commelinids. The Cronquist system, of 1981, also recognised such a family and placed it in the order Commelinales in the subclass Commelinidae.
Dichorisandra is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the dayflower family (Commelinaceae). It is found in the Neotropics. The genus is characterised by its slightly zygomorphic flowers with large anthers usually releasing pollen by means of pores at the apex, as well as by its seeds that are embedded in a red or sometimes white aril, and tubers that often form at the tips of the roots. Both morphology and an analysis of DNA sequences indicate it is very closely related to the genus Siderasis.
Lippia is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. It was named after Augustin Lippi, (1678-1705), a French naturalist and botanist. He was killed in Abyssinia. The genus contains roughly 200 species of tropical shrubs that are found around the world. Plants are fragrant due to their essential oils, which vary between species but may include estragole, carvacrol, linalool, or limonene. The leaves of certain species, such as L. graveolens, can be used as a culinary herb similar to oregano.
Pfaffia is a genus of plants in the family Amaranthaceae.
Lepechinia is a genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It includes several species of plants known commonly as pitchersages. Plants of this genus can be found in Central and South America, Mexico, California, Hispaniola, and Hawaii, although the species in Hawaii is probably a human introduction. Many of them bear attractive pitcher-shaped flowers, often in shades of purple. The genus was named for the Russian botanist Ivan Ivanovich Lepechin. In 2011, the two monotypic genera Chaunostoma and Neoeplingia were shown to be part of Lepechinia.
Pithecellobium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes approximately 23 species from the tropical Americas, ranging from Mexico to Peru and northern Brazil, including the Caribbean Islands and Florida.
Pseudobombax is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the family Malvaceae.
Muhlenbergia is a genus of plants in the grass family.
Guilleminea is a small genus of plants in the family Amaranthaceae. They are sometimes known as matweeds. These are prostrate, mat-forming perennial herbs growing from taproots. The genus includes seven species native to the Americas, ranging from Arkansas, Colorado, and California to northern Argentina. The best known species is perhaps Guilleminea densa, the small matweed, which has been introduced to parts of Africa, Australia, and the eastern United States where it is a weed.
Callisia is a genus of flowering plants in the spiderwort family, Commelinaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as roselings. It is native to the Western Hemisphere from the southern United States to Argentina. The generic name is derived from the Greek word κάλλος (kallos), meaning "beauty."
Acrocomia is a genus of palms which is native to the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico in the north, through Central America and the Caribbean, and through South America south to Argentina.
Calopogonium is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes eight species, which range through the tropical Americas from Mexico through Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America to northeastern Argentina. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae.
Pseudalbizzia is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family (Fabaceae). It includes 17 species which are native to the tropical Americas, from Mexico to northern Argentina.
Libidibia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes seven species of trees and shrubs native to the tropical Americas, ranging from northern Mexico to northern Argentina. Typical habitats include seasonally-dry tropical forest and scrub, thorn forest, and savanna woodland. It belongs to the subfamily Caesalpinioideae.
Herbstia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. It only contains one species, Herbstia brasiliana(Moq.) Sohmer It is within the Amaranthoideae subfamily.
