''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. The Rhamnaceae h ...

, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, southern Asia, northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include nakedwood,

snakewood Snakewood is a common name of several different plants: * ''Acacia'' species (family Fabaceae) in Australia, '' Acacia eremaea'', '' Acacia intorta'', ''Acacia xiphophylla' * ''Brosimum guianense'' (= ''Piratinera guianensis'') (family Moraceae) (L ...

, greenheart and hogplum. The generic name is derived from the Latin word ''coluber'', meaning "snake", and refers to the snake-like stems or stamens. The species are

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s and small trees growing tall, with simple ovate

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

. The flowers are small, greenish-white or yellowish; the fruit is a capsule containing three seeds. The genus is at least in part a wastebasket taxon, and revision will likely result in the renaming of a number of species to different genera. ''

Colubrina asiatica ''Colubrina asiatica'' is a shrub in the family Rhamnaceae that is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World, from eastern Africa to India, southeast Asia, tropical Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Common names include la ...

'', native to tropical Asia, eastern Africa and northern Australia, has become an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

in Florida.

Selected species

*''

Colubrina angustior ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names inclu ...

'' (

M.C.Johnst. Marshall Conring Johnston (born May 10, 1930) is an American botanist who made several explorations in Mexico and specialized in plants in the family Gesneriaceae. Johnston was born in San Antonio in the family of Theodore Harris Johnston and Luci ...

)

G.L.Nesom Guy L. Nesom (born August 2, 1945)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American writer and botanist. Nesom received his Ph.D. in systematic botany from the University of North Carolina in 19 ...

(eastern Mexico) *'' Colubrina arborescens'' ( Mill.) Sarg. – Greenheart (southern Florida, southern Mexico, the

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 ...

, Central America) *'' Colubrina articulata'' ( Capuron) Figueiredo *''

'' ( L.) Brongn. – Asian nakedwood, ''Ānapanapa kukuku'' ( Hawaiian) (

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

) *'' Colubrina beccariana''

Warb. Otto Warburg (20 July 1859 – 10 January 1938) was a German-Jewish botanist. He was also a notable industrial agriculture expert, and president of the Zionist Organization from 1911 to 1921. Biography Otto Warburg was born in Hamburg on 20 ...

(Malaysia) *'' Colubrina californica''

I.M.Johnst. I. M. (Ivan Murray) Johnston (February 28, 1898–May 31, 1960), was a United States Botany, botanist. He studied at Pomona College in Claremont, California and at Harvard University. His plant collections are housed in the ''Rancho Santa Ana Bot ...

– Las Animas nakedwood *''

Colubrina cubensis ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include ...

'' (

Jacq. Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin (16 February 172726 October 1817) was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany. Biography Born in Leiden in the Netherlands, he studied medicine at Leiden University, then moved first to Par ...

) Brongn. – Cuban nakedwood (southern Florida, The Bahamas,

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

, Cuba) *''

Colubrina decipiens ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include ...

'' (Baill.) Capuron *''

Colubrina elliptica ''Colubrina elliptica'', also known as mabi or soldierwood, is a species of flowering tree in the family Rhamnaceae, that is native to the Florida Keys, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and Venezuela. It produces fruit the size of pepperco ...

'' (

Sw. Olof Peter Swartz (21 September 1760 – 19 September 1818) was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes. Biography Olof Swartz attended the University of Uppsala where he st ...

) Brizicky & W.L.Stern – mabi, soldierwood (

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Venezuela) *''

Colubrina ferruginosa ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include ...

'' Brongn. *'' Colubrina glandulosa'' Perkins – glandular nakedwood *''

Colubrina greggii ''Colubrina greggii'', commonly known as Sierra nakedwood or Gregg's colubrina, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae native to eastern Mexico, with a Disjunct distribution, disjunct population in southern Texas in the United S ...

'' S.Watson – Sierra nakedwood *'' Colubrina humbertii'' (H.Perrier) Capuron *''

Colubrina nicholsonii ''Colubrina nicholsonii'' (Pondo weeping thorn, af, Pondo-treurdoring) is a species of tree in the family Rhamnaceae. It is a protected species endemic to South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the s ...

'' Van Wyk & Schrire – Pondo snakewood, Pondo weeping thorn, af, Pondo-treurdoring *'' Colubrina oppositifolia'' Brongn. ex

H.Mann Horace Mann Jr. (February 25, 1844 – 1868) was an American botanist, son of Horace Mann. His mother was one of the famous Peabody Sisters Mary Tyler Peabody Mann. Mentored in botany by Henry David Thoreau, whom he accompanied on an expedition t ...

– ''kauila'' ( Hawaii) *''

Colubrina pedunculata ''Colubrina pedunculata'' is a shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. It is endemism, endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean. Its specific name (botany), specific epithet comes from the Latin ''pedunculat ...

'' Baker f. ( Christmas Island) *'' Colubrina pubescens'' Kurz *''

Colubrina stricta ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include ...

'' Engelm. ex M.C. Johnst. – Comal nakedwood *''

Colubrina texensis ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include ...

'' ( Torr. &

A.Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

) A.Gray – snakewood or Texan hogplum ( Texas, northern Mexico) *'' Colubrina verrucosa'' (Urb.) M.C.Johnst. – Urban's nakedwood *'' Colubrina yucatanensis'' (M.C.Johnst.) G.L.Nesom ( Yucatán Peninsula)

Formerly placed here

* ''

Alphitonia excelsa ''Alphitonia excelsa'', commonly known as the red ash or soap tree, is a species of tree in the family Rhamnaceae. It is endemic to Australia, being found in New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and the northeastern tip of Western A ...

'' (Fenzl) Reissek ex Benth. (as ''C. excelsa'' Fenzl)

Ecology

''Colubrina'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including ''

Bucculatrix kendalli ''Bucculatrix kendalli'' is a moth in the family Bucculatricidae. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Texas. It was described by André Blanchard and Edward C. Knudson in 1985. The larvae feed on ''Colubrina texensis''. ...

'' which feeds exclusively on ''C. texensis''.

Uses

In the

, the leaves and/or fruit and in some cases the bark of some species are used to produce a

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

called

mauby Mauby (in Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Grenada, Guyana, Bermuda, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla), also known as ''maví (or mabí)'' in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, ''mabi'' in ...

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile: ''Colubrina''Madagascar Flora catalogue: ''Colubrina''Flora of China: ''Colubrina'' checklistGlobal Invasive Species Database: ''Colubrina asiatica''Jepson Flora Project: ''Colubrina californica''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2359212 Rhamnaceae genera Taxa named by Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart Taxa named by Louis Claude Richard