''Galphimia'' 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 ...

in the

Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises about 73 genera and 1315 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics. About 80% of the genera and 90% of the species occur in the New World ( ...

, a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of about 75 genera of

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 ...

; the name is an anagram of ''

Malpighia ''Malpighia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nance family, Malpighiaceae. It contains about 45 species of shrubs or small trees, all of which are native to the American tropics. The generic name honours Marcello Malpighi, a 17th-centur ...

.'' ''Galphimia'' comprises 26

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 ...

of large herbs, shrubs, and treelets. Twenty-two species occur 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 ...

, one ('' G. angustifolia'') extending into

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and one ('' G. speciosa'') ranging to

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

; four species ('' G. amambayensis'', '' G. australis'', ''

G. brasiliensis G is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet. G may also refer to: Places * Gabon, international license plate code G * Glasgow, UK postal code G * Eastern Quebec, Canadian postal prefix G * Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, g ...

'', '' G. platyphylla'') occur in

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 ...

, south of the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

. ''

Galphimia gracilis ''Galphimia gracilis'', a species in the genus '' Galphimia'' of the family Malpighiaceae, is native to eastern Mexico. It is widely cultivated in warm regions throughout the world, often under the common names gold shower or shower-of-gold, sl ...

'' is widely cultivated in warm regions throughout the world (but often confused with '' G. glauca'' and also ''

''). Eight species (of

and

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. ...

) are distinctive in that the

petals Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually ...

become stiff and papery, and persist past the stage of fruit maturation. ''Galphimia'' is sometimes confused with ''

Thryallis ''Thryallis'' is a genus in the family Malpighiaceae, of scandent shrubs and woody vines native to Brazil and adjacent Paraguay and Bolivia. At one time some species now assigned to '' Galphimia'', e.g., ''Galphimia gracilis'', were referred to ...

'', a different genus of

that occurs in

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 ...

and adjacent

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. At one time some species now assigned to ''Galphimia'' were referred to ''Thryallis'', but the generic name ''Thryallis'' is now a

conserved name A conserved name or ''nomen conservandum'' (plural ''nomina conservanda'', abbreviated as ''nom. cons.'') is a scientific name that has specific nomenclatural protection. That is, the name is retained, even though it violates one or more rules whic ...

according to the rules of the

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

. The genus ''Thryallis'' is distinctive in the stellate hairs and scales found on the vegetative parts, and in that the limb of the petals is much wider than long, traits not found in ''Galphimia''. ;Species

External links and references

Malpighiaceae
- description, taxonomy, phylogeny, and nomenclature from the

University of Michigan Herbarium The University of Michigan Herbarium is the herbarium of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. One of the most-extensive botanical collections in the world, the herbarium has some 1.7 million specimens of vascu ...

Galphimia
*Anderson, C. 2007. Revision of ''Galphimia'' (Malpighiaceae). Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium 25: 1–82. *Anderson, C. 1995. Revision of ''Thryallis'' (Malpighiaceae). Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium 20: 3–14. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5519320 Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae genera Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles