Larrea is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Bishop Juan Antonio Hernández Pérez de Larrea, a patron of science. South American members of this genus are known as jarillas and can produce fertile interspecific hybrids. One of the more notable species is the creosote bush of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The King Clone ring in the Mojave Desert is a creosote bush clonal colony estimated to be about 11,700 years old.
The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales.
The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees in 17 genera. The family is widespread, occurring on every continent from boreal to tropical regions.
Bombax is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the mallow family. They are native to western Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the subtropical regions of East Asia and northern Australia. It is distinguished from the genus Ceiba, which has whiter flowers.
Malvaviscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. Common names for species in this genus include Turk's cap mallow, wax mallow, sleeping hibiscus, and mazapan. It belongs to a group of genera that differ from the closely related Hibiscus in possessing a fruit divided into 5 separate parts, and having a style surmounted by 10, rather than 5, capitate or capitellate stigmas. Among those genera Malvaviscus is distinguished by having auriculate petals and red, fleshy fruits. The generic name is derived from the Latin words malva, meaning "mallow," and viscus, which means "sticky," referring to the mucilaginous sap produced by members of the genus. The fruit can be used to make jelly or syrup. Both the fruit and flowers are used to make herbal teas.
Sapindus is a genus of about five to twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the lychee family, Sapindaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Members of the genus are commonly known as soapberries or soapnuts because the fruit pulp is used to make soap. The generic name is derived from the Latin words sapo, meaning "soap", and indicus, meaning "of India".
Gouania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae. The 50 to 70 species it contains are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including Africa, Madagascar, the Indian Ocean islands, southern Asia, the Americas and Hawaii. They are shrubs or lianas. A revision of the species in Madagascar and the other western Indian Ocean islands is in preparation, where the genus has an important centre of diversity. The work will recognise several new species.
Nyctaginaceae, the four o'clock family, is a family of around 33 genera and 290 species of flowering plants, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few representatives in temperate regions. The family has a distinctive fruit type called an accessory fruit or anthocarp, and many genera have extremely large pollen grains.
Ruellia is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as ruellias or wild petunias. They are not closely related to petunias (Petunia) although both genera belong to the same euasterid clade. The genus was named in honor of Jean Ruelle (1474–1537), herbalist and physician to Francis I of France and translator of several works of Dioscorides.
Colubrina is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands.
Pimenta is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae described as a genus in 1821. It is native to Central and South America, Mexico, and the West Indies.
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.
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.
Bunchosia is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It contains roughly 75 species of trees and shrubs, which are native to dry woodlands, savannas, and wet forests. Their range extends from Mexico and the Caribbean to southeastern Brazil and adjacent Argentina. Bunchosia is one of three arborescent genera of Malpighiaceae with fleshy, bird-dispersed fruits.
Forestiera is a genus of flowering plants in the olive family, Oleaceae. Members of the genus are often called swampprivets. Most are shrubs.
Lygodium microphyllum is a climbing fern originating in tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, Melanesia and Australia. It is an invasive weed in Florida where it invades open forest and wetland areas. The type specimen was collected in the vicinity of Nabúa, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines by Luis Née.
Castela is a genus of thorny shrubs and small trees in the family Simaroubaceae. Members of the genus are native to the Americas, especially the tropical regions. The generic name honours the French naturalist René Richard Louis Castel. Castela is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.
Chromolaena is a genus of about 165 species of perennials and shrubs in the family Asteraceae. The name is derived from the Greek words χρῶμα (khrôma), meaning "color", and χλαῑνα (khlaīna) or λαῑνα (laīna) meaning "cloak". It refers to the colored phyllaries of some species. Members of the genus are native to the Americas, from the southern United States to South America. One species, Chromolaena odorata, has been introduced to many parts of the world where it is considered a weed.
Waltheria is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is sometimes placed in Sterculiaceae. The name honours German botanist Augustin Friedrich Walther (1688–1746).
Metopium or poisonwood is a genus of flowering plants in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. They are dioecious trees with poisonous sap that can induce contact dermatitis.
