''Adelia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the

spurge ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...

, subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the southernmost part of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words α (''a''), meaning "not", and δήλος (''delos''), meaning "visible." It refers to the difficulties Linnaeus experienced interpreting the genus.

Species

;Current species include: # ''

Adelia barbinervis ''Adelia barbinervis'', commonly known as teenek, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, that is native to southern Mexico and northern Central America. The Huastec Maya cultivated the plant as a famine food, cooking the s ...

'' Cham. & Schltdl. – hairynerve adelia - Mexico, N Central America # ''

Adelia brandegeei ''Adelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to Latin America and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the southernmost part of Texas. The name is d ...

'' V.W.Steinm. - Baja California Sur, Sonora # ''

Adelia cinerea ''Adelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to Latin America and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the southernmost part of Texas. The name is d ...

'' (Wiggins & Robbins) A.Cerv., V.W.Steinm. & Flores-Olvera - Sonora # ''

Adelia membranifolia ''Adelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to Latin America and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the southernmost part of Texas. The name is d ...

'' ( Müll.Arg.) Chodat & Hassl. - Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, NE Argentina # ''

Adelia oaxacana ''Adelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to Latin America and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the southernmost part of Texas. The name is d ...

'' (Müll.Arg.) Hemsl. – Oaxaca Adelia - most of Mexico from San Luis Potosí + Sinaloa to Chiapas + Quintana Roo # ''

Adelia obovata ''Adelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to Latin America and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the southernmost part of Texas. The name is d ...

'' Wiggins & Robbins - Sonora, Sinaloa # ''

Adelia panamensis ''Adelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to Latin America and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the southernmost part of Texas. The name is d ...

'' Pax & K.Hoffm. - Panama # ''

Adelia ricinella ''Adelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to Latin America and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the southernmost part of Texas. The name is d ...

'' L. – Wild Lime - West Indies, Venezuela, Colombia # ''

Adelia triloba ''Adelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to Latin America and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the southernmost part of Texas. The name is d ...

'' (Müll.Arg.) Hemsl. – threelobe adelia - Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela # ''

Adelia vaseyi ''Adelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to Latin America and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the southernmost part of Texas. The name is d ...

'' (Coult.) Pax & K.Hoffmann – Vasey's wild lime - Tamaulipas, S Texas (Starr, Hidalgo, Cameron, + Willacy Counties)Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map, ''Adelia vaseyi''
/ref> ;Formerly included species (including in

Oleaceae Oleaceae, also known as the olive family, is a taxonomic family of flowering shrubs, trees, and a few lianas in the order Lamiales, It presently comprises 28 genera, one of which is recently extinct.Peter S. Green. 2004. "Oleaceae". pages 2 ...

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones ( equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definiti ...

) moved to other genera, including: (''

Alchornea ''Alchornea'' is a plant genus of the family (biology), family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1788. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, South Asia, Australia, Latin America, and various oceanic islands. Mo ...

, Bernardia,

Doryxylon ''Doryxylon'' is a monotypic plant genus in the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1857. The sole species is ''Doryxylon spinosum''. It is found on the Island of Luzon in the Philippines and in the Lesser Sunda Islands of southern ...

Erythrococca ''Erythrococca'' is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae, first described in 1849. It is native to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Ar ...

Flueggea ''Flueggea'', the bushweeds, is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1806. It is widespread across much of Asia, Africa, and various oceanic islands, with a few species in South America and on th ...

, Forestiera'' (

), ''

Garciadelia ''Garciadelia'' is a plant genus of the family (biology), family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 2010. The entire genus is endemic to the Island of Hispaniola in the West Indies (divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is ...

Homonoia Homonoia ( gr, Ὁμόνοια) is the concept of order and unity, ''being of one mind together'' or ''union of hearts''. It was used by the Greeks to create unity in the politics of classical Greece. It saw widespread use when Alexander the G ...

Lasiocroton ''Lasiocroton'' is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1859. The genus is endemic to the West Indies. It is a member of the ''Leucocroton'' alliance, which also includes ''Leucocroton'' and ''Garciadelia''. Sp ...

Macaranga ''Macaranga'' is a large genus of Old World tropical trees of the family Euphorbiaceae and the only genus in the subtribe Macaranginae (tribe Acalypheae). Native to Africa, Australasia, Asia and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, t ...

, Mallotus'', and ''

Spathiostemon ''Spathiostemon'' is a genus of trees in the Euphorbiaceae family. It is native to the Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, Wallacea and Southeast Asia. The trees grow between 10 and 20m tall, often in secondary forest. The wood is sometimes used. ...

'' )

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Adelia'' species
Adelieae Euphorbiaceae genera Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Central America Flora of North America Flora of South America Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Euphorb-stub