''Byrsonima'' is one of about 75 genera in the Malpighiaceae, a

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 ...

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 order

Malpighiales The Malpighiales comprise one of the largest orders of flowering plants, containing about 36 families and more than species, about 7.8% of the eudicots. The order is very diverse, containing plants as different as the willow, violet, poinsett ...

. In particular in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...

, they are known as locustberries (which also may refer specifically to '' Byrsonima coccolobifolia'' or '' Byrsonima lucida''). Another widely seen common name is serrets or serrettes. Nanche

''Byrsonima'' comprises over 135

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s, shrubs, and subshrubs found in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referr ...

and subtropics from southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, southeastern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and the Caribbean to southeastern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The plants have entire leaves, yellow flowers, and fleshy, edible fruits called nance; '' B. crassifolia'' in particular is known by that name, as it is an underutilized crop of some commercial importance in

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 ...

. They are primarily pollinated by various

oligolectic The term oligolecty is used in pollination ecology to refer to bees that exhibit a narrow, specialized preference for pollen sources, typically to a single family or genus of flowering plants. The preference may occasionally extend broadly to mult ...

native bees (e.g., ''

Centris The genus ''Centris'' contains circa 250 species of large apid bees occurring in the Neotropical and Nearctic realms, from Kansas to Argentina. Most females of these bees possess adaptations for carrying floral oils rather than (or in addition ...

'', '' Epicharis'', and '' Tetrapedia'') that are specialized to collect floral oils, as the flowers do not offer the typical floral rewards. The fruits of serrette trees are important in the diets of certain wildlife, such as the golden conure (''Guaruba guarouba''), while the leaves of ''Byrsonima'' are food for some of the curious American moth-butterflies (Hedylidae). Plantings of ''B. crassifolia'' in the dry

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s of

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

may even be suitable as substitute habitat for the Tehuantepec jackrabbit (''Lepus flavigularis''), an endangered species presently only found in three small

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

populations. ''

Maricao Maricao () is a town and the second-least populous municipality of Puerto Rico; it is located at the western edge of the Cordillera Central. It is a small town set around a small square in hilly terrain, north of San Germán, Sabana Grande and ...

'' (''B. spicata'') is the namesake tree and

floral emblem In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...

Maricao, Puerto Rico Maricao () is a town and the second-least populous municipality of Puerto Rico; it is located at the western edge of the Cordillera Central. It is a small town set around a small square in hilly terrain, north of San Germán, Sabana Grande and ...

, and figured on the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of this city.

Selected species

* '' Byrsonima basiloba'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima coccolobifolia'' ( Spreng.)

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850), also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist. He is known for being one of the first to study and categorise plants from the American continents, ...

* '' Byrsonima coriacea'' ( L.)

* '' Byrsonima crassa'' Nied. * ''

Byrsonima crassifolia ''Byrsonima crassifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malpighiaceae, native to tropical America. Common names used in English include nance, maricao cimun, craboo, and golden spoon. In Jamaica it is called hogberry. It's val ...

'' (L.) Kunth – nance, savanna serrette, golden spoon, ''murici, muruci'' (Brazil), ''nanche'' (Mexico) * '' Byrsonima crispa'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima cydonaefolia'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima horneana'' Britton & Small (

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

) * '' Byrsonima intermedia'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima laxiflora'' Griseb. * '' Byrsonima laevigata'' (Poir.) DC. * '' Byrsonima lucida'' (Mill.) DC. – locustberry, clam cherry, gooseberry * '' Byrsonima myricifolia'' Griseb. * '' Byrsonima ophiticola'' Small ex Britton (Puerto Rico) * '' Byrsonima sericea'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima spicata'' (Cav.) DC. – ''maricao'' * '' Byrsonima subterranea'' Brade et Markgr. * '' Byrsonima tuberosa'' * '' Byrsonima variabilis'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima verbascifolia'' ( L.) Rich. ex

Juss. Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (; 12 April 1748 – 17 September 1836) was a French botanist, notable as the first to publish a natural classification of flowering plants; much of his system remains in use today. His classification was based on an ...

References

External links

Malpighiaceae
Malpighiaceae - description, taxonomy, phylogeny, and nomenclature

Malpighiaceae genera {{Malpighiaceae-stub