''Berlinia'' 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 family Fabaceae. It includes 21 species of trees native to sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from Guinea to Chad, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Angola. Species of ''Berlina'' grow in the Guineo–Congolian forest of equatorial western and central Africa, and in the transitional

forest–savanna mosaic Forest–savanna mosaic is a transitory ecotone between the tropical moist broadleaf forests of Equatorial Africa and the drier savannas and open woodlands to the north and south of the forest belt. The forest–savanna mosaic consists of drier f ...

belts north and south of the forest region. Fossil pollen attributable to the genus is known from the Eocene (

Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian ...

) of Africa.

Species

21 species accepted by the Plants of the World Online as of August 2023: *'' Berlinia auriculata'' – Benin to Central African Republic and Republic of the Congo *'' Berlinia bracteosa'' – southern Nigeria to Chad and Democratic Republic of the Congo *'' Berlinia bruneelii'' – Cameroon and Central African Republic to Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola *'' Berlinia confusa'' – Sierra Leone to Cameroon and Republic of the Congo *'' Berlinia congolensis'' – Nigeria to Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola *'' Berlinia coriacea'' – Nigeria to Central African Republic *'' Berlinia craibiana'' – Nigeria to Central African Republic and northern Angola *'' Berlinia delevoyi'' – Democratic Republic of the Congo and northeastern Angola *'' Berlinia giorgii'' – Nigeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, and Zambia *'' Berlinia grandiflora'' – Guinea to Niger, Central African Republic, and Angola *'' Berlinia hollandii'' – southern Nigeria and Cameroon *'' Berlinia immaculata'' – Cameroon and Gabon *'' Berlinia korupensis'' – western Cameroon *'' Berlinia occidentalis'' – Sierra Leone to Ghana *'' Berlinia orientalis'' – Tanzania and Mozambique *'' Berlinia phenacoa'' – Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo *'' Berlinia rabiensis'' – Gabon *'' Berlinia razzifera'' – Gabon *'' Berlinia sapinii'' – Democratic Republic of the Congo *'' Berlinia tomentella'' – Sierra Leone to Ghana and Cameroon *'' Berlinia viridicans'' – Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Democratic Republic of the Congo

References

External links

Detarioideae Fabaceae genera Afrotropical realm flora Taxa named by George Bentham Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker {{Detarioideae-stub