Pachira

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Pachira
Pachira aquatica (inflorescense).jpg
Pachira aquatica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Subfamily: Bombacoideae
Genus: Pachira
Aubl. [1]
Species

See text

Synonyms [2]
  • BombacopsisPittier
  • Carolinea L.f.
  • RaussiniaNeck.
  • RhodognaphalopsisA.Robyns
  • SophiaL.

Pachira is a genus of tropical trees distributed in Central and South America and the Caribbean, ranging from Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil. [2] They are classified in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the family Malvaceae. Previously the genus was assigned to Bombacaceae. [3] [1] Prior to that the genus was found in the (now obsolete) Sterculiaceae.

Contents

54 species are currently accepted. [2] [4] They form small or large trees with digitate leaves, and the fruit an oval woody one-celled capsule opening by a number of divisions and containing many seeds.

History

Although first named Pachira by Jean Baptiste Aublet in 1775. The genus name is derived from a language spoken in Guyana. [5] Carl Linnaeus the Younger unaware of this separately is said to have called the genus Carolinea after Princess (or Marchioness) "Sophia Caroline of Baden" in 1782. [6] [7] [8] [9] The principle of precedence gives the authority to Pachira.

The Margrave of Baden, Karl Wilhelm (1709 – 1738) founded the Karlsruhe Palace (Karlsruher Schloß) in 1715. He had a considerable interest in botany, particularly the exotic, and had large numbers of trees imported for the Palace Gardens (Schloßgarten). He was succeeded by his Grandson, Karl Friedrich (1738 - 1811) who married Princess Karoline Luise von Hessen-Darmstadt (1723 - 1783) in 1751. Karoline Luise was a noted botanist. She corresponded with Carl von Linné (Linnaeus), cultivated numerous plants in the palace gardens, had engravings of them made for a book and had them all classified according to Linnaeus' system. Linnaeus' son, Carl Linnaeus the younger, recognised her contributions by naming one of the trees, Pachira aquatica (German: Glückskastanie) Carolinea princeps after her. [10]

Commercial use

Timber, cordage and seeds for stuffing pillows and cushions. [11]

Species

54 species are accepted. [2]

Formerly placed here

References

  1. 1 2 "Genus: Pachira Aubl". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2003-06-05. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Pachira Aubl". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  3. ↑ IABIN Archived 2012-07-01 at archive.today
  4. ↑ Plant systematics: Pachira
  5. ↑ Helmut Genaust (1983): Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen, 2. Auflage. Birkhäuser Verlag – ISBN   3-7643-1399-4
  6. ↑ The Imperial Dictionary of the English Language, Ogilvie, J. (ed.) 1883 Pachira p. 351.
  7. ↑ Loudon's Hortus britannicus: A catalogue of all the plants indigenous, cultivated in, or introduced to Britain. London, 1830. I: 292
  8. ↑ Loudon JC. An encyclopædia of plants. Longman London 1836, p. 592
  9. ↑ Lindley and Moore. The treasury of botany, Longmans, London 1866. Pachira p. 833
  10. ↑ "Karlsruhe Institute of Technology: Early Developments of Botany and Genetics in Karlsruhe 1715 - 1832". Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  11. ↑ Brande and Cox (eds.) A dictionary of science, literature, & art. Longmans, London 1866 Pachira II: 761
  12. 1 2 "GRIN Species Records of Pachira". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2013-04-29.

Further reading

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