''Helmontia'' is a genus 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 belonging to the family
Cucurbitaceae
The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are:
*''Cucurbita'' – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds
*''Lagena ...
.
Its native range is from northern South America to northern Brazil. It is found in the countries of Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.
The genus name of ''Helmontia'' is in honour of
Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont (; ; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from Brussels. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to ...
(1580–1644), a chemist, physiologist, and physician from the
Spanish Netherlands
Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...
.
It was first described and published in Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique Vol.14 on page 239 in 1875.
Known species, according to Kew:
*''
Helmontia cardiophylla''
*''
Helmontia leptantha''
*''
Helmontia trujilloi''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9002502
Cucurbitaceae
Cucurbitaceae genera
Plants described in 1875
Flora of South America
Taxa named by Alfred Cogniaux