''Bixa'' is a genus of plants in the family Bixaceae. It is native to

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 ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, and naturalized in other places.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Molina Rosito, A. 1975. Enumeración de las plantas de Honduras. Ceiba 19(1): 1–118.

Species

The genus includes the following species: #'' Bixa arborea'' Huber - Brazil, Ecuador, Peru #'' Bixa excelsa'' Gleason & Krukoff - Peru, northwestern Brazil #''

Bixa orellana ''Bixa orellana'', also known as achiote, is a shrub native to Central America. ''Bixa orellana'' is grown in many countries worldwide. The tree is best known as the source of annatto, a natural orange-red condiment (also called or ) obtained ...

'' L. - widespread from Mexico to Argentina; naturalized in West Indies, parts of Africa, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Christmas Island, Hawaii, Society Islands #'' Bixa platycarpa'' Ruiz & Pav. ex G.Don - Ecuador, Peru, northwestern Brazil #'' Bixa urucurana'' Willd. - Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, Peru, northwestern Brazil

References

Bixaceae Malvales genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Malvales-stub