Mimosa is a genus of about 600 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. Species are native to the Americas, from North Dakota to northern Argentina, and to eastern Africa as well as the Indian subcontinent and Indochina. The generic name is derived from the Greek word μῖμος (mimos), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -osa, "resembling", suggesting its 'sensitive leaves' which seem to 'mimic conscious life'.
Abarema is a neotropical genus in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Brazil, Cuba, and Venezuela. Most of the species can be found in the Amazon Basin and the Guyana Highlands. They have a deep-green fernlike foliage, with bipinnately compound leaves.
Richard Spruce was an English botanist specializing in bryology. One of the great Victorian botanical explorers, Spruce spent 15 years exploring the Amazon from the Andes to its mouth, and was one of the first Europeans to visit many of the places where he collected specimens. Spruce discovered and named a number of new plant species, and corresponded with some of the leading botanists of the nineteenth century.
Coursetia is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. Members of the genus, commonly known as babybonnets, are shrubs and small trees native to the Southwestern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America as far south as Brazil and Peru. The genus is named for French botanist Georges Louis Marie Dumont de Courset (1746–1824).
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.
Ocimum is a genus of aromatic annual and perennial herbs and shrubs in the family Lamiaceae, native to the tropical and warm temperate regions of all 6 inhabited continents, with the greatest number of species in Africa. It is the genus of basil and its best known species are the cooking herb great basil, O. basilicum, and the medicinal herb tulsi, O. tenuiflorum.
Peltogyne, commonly known as purpleheart, violet wood, amaranth and other local names is a genus of 23 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae; native to tropical rainforests of Central and South America; from Guerrero, Mexico, through Central America, and as far as south-eastern Brazil.
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.
Chloroleucon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains 11 species native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Mexico through Central America, the Caribbean, and South America to northern Argentina. Some authorities consider it part of the genus Albizia. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρóς (chloros), meaning "green," and λευκός (leukos), meaning "white."
Cratylia is a genus of legume in the family Fabaceae. It includes eight species native to tropical South America, from Peru and northern Brazil to northeastern Argentina.
Macrolobium is a legume genus in the subfamily Detarioideae. It is a tropical genus with about 80 species. Half occur in Brazil, where they are common in the floodplains of the Amazonian Basin. Members of the genus are used as ornamentals and for their wood.
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.
Forsteronia is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1818. It is native to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies.
Neptunia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae.
Heterostemon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes eight species native to northern South America, from Colombia and Venezuela to the Guianas and northern Brazil. It belongs to the subfamily Detarioideae. It is usually green and often has white dots along its leaves.
Cleobulia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to subfamily Faboideae. It includes four species of vines, lianas, or shrubs native to southwestern Mexico and Brazil. Habitats include Amazon rainforest, seasonally dry forest, and montane oak and pine forest.
Monopteryx is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes three species of trees native to the Amazon rainforest of northern South America, ranging through parts of Colombia, Venezuela, northern Brazil, and French Guiana. They grow in non-inundated lowland tropical rain forest on sandy soil. The genus belongs to subfamily Faboideae. Members of this genus produce hydroxypipecolic acids in their leaves.
Panurea is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes two species of trees native to Colombia and northern Brazil. They grow in the lowland tropical Amazon rainforest on white sand. The genus belongs to tribe Ormosieae in subfamily Faboideae.
Periandra is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae. It includes seven species native to the tropical Americas, including Brazil, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic. The genus belongs to subfamily Faboideae.
Mollia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae. It is within the Grewioideae subfamily, and the Grewieae tribe.
