''Balanites'' is an

Afrotropical The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

and

Indomalayan The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Indi ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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

caltrop A caltrop (also known as caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, calthrop, jackrock or crow's foot'' Battle of Alesia'' (Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 52 BC), Battlefield Detectives program, (2006), rebroadcast: 2008-09-08 on History Ch ...

family,

Zygophyllaceae Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera. Plants in the family Zygophyllaceae may be trees, shrubs, or herbs. They are often found in dry habita ...

. The name ''Balanites'' derives from the Greek word for an

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

and refers to the fruit, it was coined by Alire Delile in 1813.

Species

The following species are included in the genus ''Balanites'': * ''

Balanites aegyptiaca ''Balanites aegyptiaca'' (also known as the Egyptian balsam) is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East. There are many comm ...

'' ( L.)

Delile Alire Raffeneau Delile (23 January 1778, in Versailles – 5 July 1850, in Montpellier) was a French botanist. Biography Delile studied botany with Jean Lemonnier, and was in the Paris medical school in 1796. Egypt Delile participated in Napole ...

*''

Balanites angolensis ''Balanites angolensis'', or Angolan green-thorn, is a species of tree from southern Africa, it is a member of the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. Description ''Balanites angolensis'' is a small semi-deciduous tree or shrub which grows to up to ...

'' (Welw.) Mildbr. & Schltr. *''

Balanites glabra ''Balanites glabra'' is a species of tree or shrub, classified either as a member of the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to East Africa. Description ''Balanites glabra'' is a spiny shrub or tree growing to a maximum heigh ...

'' Mildbr. & Schltr. * ''

Balanites maughamii ''Balanites maughamii'' (manduro, torchwood, af, Groendoring, zu, Ugobandlovu) is a protected tree in South Africa. Groendoring, a community outside Asab Asab ( Nama: ''new thing'') is a settlement in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. ...

Sprague Sprague may refer to: Places ;Canada * Sprague, Manitoba, a small town near the Minnesota/Manitoba border ;United States * Sprague, Alabama, Montgomery County, Alabama * Sprague, Connecticut * Sprague, Missouri * Sprague, Nebraska * Sprague, ...

*''

Balanites pedicellaris ''Balanites pedicellaris'', the small green-thorn or small torchwood is a small tree or shrub from Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a member of the caltrop family Zygophyllaceae. Description ''Balanites pedicellaris'' is a multi-stemmed shrub or small ...

'' Mildbr. & Schltr. *''

Balanites rotundifolia ''Balanites rotundifolia'', known in Swahili as Mbamba ngoma is a spiny bush or small tree from eastern Africa and southern Arabia. It is a member of the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. Description ''Balanites rotundifolia'' is a small tree or ...

'' (Tiegh.) Blatt. * ''

Balanites roxburghii ''Balanites roxburghii'' is a spiny, evergreen tree. It is common in open sandy plains of the Indian peninsula, western Rajasthan, west Bengal, Maharashtra , Gujarat and drier parts of India. The specific epithet ''roxburghii'' refers to the ...

'' Planch. *''

Balanites triflora ''Balanites'' is an Afrotropical, Palearctic and Indomalayan genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. The name ''Balanites'' derives from the Greek word for an acorn and refers to the fruit, it was coined by Alire Delile ...

'' Tiegh. *''

Balanites wilsoniana ''Balanites wilsoniana'' is a species of fruit-bearing tree from west and central Africa from the caltrop family (Zygophyllaceae). Description ''Balanites wilsoniana'', commonly called the Boko Tree, is a tall forest tree with high buttresses, w ...

'' Dawe & Sprague

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2534240 Rosid genera