''Comocladia'' is a

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 ...

of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It is native to the Americas, where it is distributed in

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. ...

, and 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 ...

.Atha, D. E., et al. (2011)
A new species of ''Comocladia'' (Anacardiaceae) from Belize and Guatemala.
''Brittonia'' 63(3), 370-74. Species are known commonly as maidenplums. The term ''guao'' is commonly used to refer to ''Comocladia'' species in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. These 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

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, mostly unbranched. The leaves are divided into opposite pairs of leaflets that usually have toothed or spiny edges. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s are

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s of flowers growing from the leaf axils. The plants are polygamodioecious, producing male, female, and bisexual flowers. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s are red and the corollas are red or purple. The fruit is a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

covered in the remnants of the flower calyx. It is fleshy with a yellow, red, or black skin. The plants produce an

exudate An exudate is a fluid emitted by an organism through pores or a wound, a process known as exuding or exudation. ''Exudate'' is derived from ''exude'' 'to ooze' from Latin ''exsūdāre'' 'to (ooze out) sweat' (''ex-'' 'out' and ''sūdāre'' 'to ...

that turns black on contact with air. It is known for causing contact dermatitis. Of the 26 species in the genus, 17 have been noted to cause dermatitis.Sasseville, D., et al. (2009)
Dermatitis from plants of the new world.
''European Journal of Dermatology'' 19(5) 423-30.

Taxonomy

Species

Species include: *'' Comocladia cordata'' *'' Comocladia cuneata'' – wedgeleaf maidenplum *''

Comocladia dentata ''Comocladia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It is native to the Americas, where it is distributed in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.Atha, D. E., et al. (2011)A new species of ''Comocladia'' (Ana ...

'' – toothed maidenplum, guao (Cuba, Dominican Republic) *'' Comocladia dodonaea'' – poison ash, hogwood (Barbuda), Christmas tree (St. Croix), thumbtack (Tortola), brésillet (Haiti), carrasco (Puerto Rico), guao (Dominican Republic) *'' Comocladia domingensis'' *'' Comocladia ebrenbergii'' *'' Comocladia ekmaniana'' *'' Comocladia gilgiana'' *'' Comocladia glabra'' – guao (Cuba), carrasco (Puerto Rico), chicharrón (Dominican Republic) *'' Comocladia gracilis'' *'' Comocladia grandidentata'' *'' Comocladia guatemalensis'' *'' Comocladia hollickii'' *'' Comocladia intermedia'' *'' Comocladia jamaicensis'' *''

Comocladia macrophylla ''Comocladia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It is native to the Americas, where it is distributed in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.Atha, D. E., et al. (2011)A new species of ''Comocladia'' (Ana ...

'' *''

Comocladia mollifolia ''Comocladia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It is native to the Americas, where it is distributed in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.Atha, D. E., et al. (2011)A new species of ''Comocladia'' (Ana ...

'' *''

Comocladia mollissima ''Comocladia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It is native to the Americas, where it is distributed in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.Atha, D. E., et al. (2011)A new species of ''Comocladia'' (Ana ...

'' *'' Comocladia palmeri'' *'' Comocladia parvifolia'' *'' Comocladia pinnatifolia'' – guao (Dominican Republic), sibliye (Haiti), maiden plum (Jamaica) *'' Comocladia platyphylla'' *'' Comocladia pubescens'' *'' Comocladia repanda'' *'' Comocladia undulata'' *'' Comocladia velutina'' – velvet-leaved maiden plum (Jamaica)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q8348665 Anacardiaceae Anacardiaceae genera