Hevea is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, with about ten members. It is also one of many names used commercially for the wood of the most economically important rubber tree, H. brasiliensis. The genus is native to tropical South America but is widely cultivated in other tropical countries and naturalized in several of them. It was first described in 1775.
Tabernaemontana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae. It has a pan-tropical distribution, found in Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America, and a wide assortment of oceanic islands. These plants are evergreen shrubs and small trees growing to 1–15 m tall. The leaves are opposite, 3–25 cm long, with milky sap; hence it is one of the diverse plant genera commonly called "milkwood". The flowers are fragrant, white, 1–5 cm in diameter.
Attalea maripa, commonly called maripa palm is a palm native to tropical South America and Trinidad and Tobago. It grows up 35 m (115 ft) tall and can have leaves or fronds 10–12 m (33–39 ft) long. This plant has a yellow edible fruit which is oblong ovoid and cream. An edible oil can be extracted from the pulp of the fruit and from the kernel of the seed.
Micrandra is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae first described in 1854. It is native to South America.
Guadua is a Neotropical genus of thorny, clumping bamboo in the grass family, ranging from moderate to very large species.
Heliconia chartacea is a species of Heliconia native to tropical South America.
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.
Goupia is a neotropical genus of flowering plants and the sole genus included in the family Goupiaceae. There are three species, all found in tropical northern South America.
Lecythis is a genus of woody plant in the Lecythidaceae family first described as a genus in 1758. It is native to Central America and South America. Several species produce edible seeds and referred to by a variety of common names including paradise nut, monkey pot, cream nut, and sapucaia nut.
Virola surinamensis, known commonly as baboonwood, ucuuba, ucuhuba and chalviande, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is found in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It has also been naturalized in the Caribbean. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical swamps, and heavily degraded former forest. Although the species is listed as threatened due to habitat loss by the IUCN, it is a common tree species found throughout Central and South America.
Thoracocarpus is a genus of plants first described as a genus in 1958. It contains only one known species, Thoracocarpus bissectus a hemiepiphytic vine. It is native to Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, and South America.
Axonopus is a genus of plants in the grass family, known generally as carpet grass. They are native primarily to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas with one species in tropical Africa and another on Easter Island. They are sometimes rhizomatous and many are tolerant of periodic submersion.
Couepia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Chrysobalanaceae described as a genus in 1775.
Mauritiella is a dioecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in South America where it is commonly called buriti. It is named after the similar and closely related genus Mauritia.
Eperua is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to subfamily Detarioideae. It includes 16 species native to northern South America, in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern Brazil. They live in the jungles, often along rivers or streams. The leaves are compound pinnate, with smooth margins, and the fruits are long pods. The wood of E. falcata is called wallaba and is often used in construction.
Homolepis is a genus of Neotropical plants in the grass family. They are native to Mexico, Central and South America, and the West Indies.
Simarouba amara is a species of tree in the family Simaroubaceae, found in the rainforests and savannahs of South and Central America and the Caribbean. It was first described by Aubl. in French Guiana in 1775 and is one of six species of Simarouba. The tree is evergreen, but produces a new set of leaves once a year. It requires relatively high levels of light to grow and grows rapidly in these conditions, but lives for a relatively short time. In Panama, it flowers during the dry season in February and March, whereas in Costa Rica, where there is no dry season it flowers later, between March and July. As the species is dioecious, the trees are either male or female and only produce male or female flowers. The small yellow flowers are thought to be pollinated by insects, the resulting fruits are dispersed by animals including monkeys, birds and fruit-eating bats and the seeds are also dispersed by leaf cutter ants.
Capirona is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Capirona decorticans, which is native to northern South America. It has been reported from French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, and northern Brazil.
Bunchosia armeniaca is a species in the family Malpighiaceae native to northwestern South America. Common names include cansaboca, ciruela de fraile, guaimaro, indano, and cold-earth mamey. Its Kichwa name is usuma.
Dialium guianense is a species of tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae. The species occurs through North America, Central America and South America, and was an important source of food and wood for the ancient Mayans.
