''Hovenia'' is a small genus of deciduous trees or shrubs 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 ...

. They occur naturally from India to Japan. The Japanese, or Oriental raisin tree, '' Hovenia dulcis'', is the best known species, as it is often planted in gardens outside Asia.

Fossil record

A fossil wood with features similar to those of the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

'' Hovenia palaeodulcis'' from Japan is described from the late Eocene Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado, United States. This is the first report of fossil wood of this Asian genus in North America.A New (Hovenia) and an old (Chadronoxylon) Fossil Wood from the Late Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado, U.S.A. by Elisabeth Wheeler and Herbert W. Meyer, IAWA journal / International Association of Wood Anatomists (Impact Factor: 1.07). 01/2012; 33(3). DOI: 10.1163/22941932-90000096

Selected species

* '' Hovenia acerba'' : syn ''Hovenia kiukiangensis'' * '' Hovenia dulcis'' Thunb. : syn ''Hovenia inaequalis'' DC. * ''

Hovenia parviflora ''Hovenia'' is a small genus of deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rhamnaceae. They occur naturally from India to Japan. The Japanese, or Oriental raisin tree, '' Hovenia dulcis'', is the best known species, as it is often planted in gardens ...

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Hovenia pubescens ''Hovenia'' is a small genus of deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rhamnaceae. They occur naturally from India to Japan. The Japanese, or Oriental raisin tree, '' Hovenia dulcis'', is the best known species, as it is often planted in gardens ...

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Hovenia robusta ''Hovenia'' is a small genus of deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rhamnaceae. They occur naturally from India to Japan. The Japanese, or Oriental raisin tree, '' Hovenia dulcis'', is the best known species, as it is often planted in gardens ...

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Hovenia tomentella ''Hovenia'' is a small genus of deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rhamnaceae. They occur naturally from India to Japan. The Japanese, or Oriental raisin tree, '' Hovenia dulcis'', is the best known species, as it is often planted in gardens ...

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Hovenia trichocarpa ''Hovenia'' is a small genus of deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rhamnaceae. They occur naturally from India to Japan. The Japanese, or Oriental raisin tree, '' Hovenia dulcis'', is the best known species, as it is often planted in gardens ...

References

Rhamnaceae Rhamnaceae genera {{Rhamnaceae-stub