''Mora'' is a genus of large trees in the subfamily

Caesalpinioideae Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name ''Caesalpinia''. It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily. The Caesalpinioideae ...

of the

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

, (or in some classifications the family Caesalpinaceae of the order

Fabales The Fabales are an order (biology), order of flowering plants included in the Rosids, rosid group of the eudicots in the APG II system, Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II classification system. In the APG II circumscription, this order includes the f ...

). There are seven to ten

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 ...

, all native to lowland

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s in northern South America, southern Central America and the southern

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 ...

islands. These are large, heavily buttressed rainforest trees up to 130 feet (40 meters) in height (to 190 feet (58 meters) in the case of M. excelsa ). The genus is particularly noteworthy for the exceptional size of its beans, which are commonly acknowledged to be the largest known

dicot The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, t ...

seeds, in the instance of M megistosperma being up to seven inches (18 cm) in length, six inches (15 cm ) in breadth and three inches (8 cm)in thickness, and a weight of up to 2.2 pounds (1000 grams). The beans of Mora spp. are edible if boiled, and are also the source of a red dyestuff. The species M. excelsa is one of the few rainforest trees to grow in pure stands.Ivan T. Sanderson and David Loth, "Ivan Sanderson's Book of Great Jungles" (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965) p. 116. *'' Mora abbottii'' Britton & Rose — cola tree, coi, col (

) *'' Mora ekmanii'' (Urb.) Britton & Rose (Caribbean) *'' Mora excelsa'' Benth. — nato, nato rojo, mora (

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

) *''

Mora gonggrijpii ''Mora'' is a genus of large trees in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the legume family Fabaceae, (or in some classifications the family Caesalpinaceae of the order Fabales). There are seven to ten species, all native to lowland rainfor ...

'' (Kleinhoonte) Sandwith — Moraboekea (Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela) *''

Mora megistosperma ''Mora megistosperma'' also called ''Mora oleifera'' is a species of rainforest tree in the Bean Family ( Leguminosae, or Fabaceae and in the Cassia subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is commonly called Mora or Mangle Nato It is found in Costa Ri ...

'' (Pittier) Britton & Rose (

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

) *''

Mora oleifera Mora may refer to: People * Mora (surname) Places Sweden * Mora, Säter, Sweden * Mora, Sweden, the seat of Mora Municipality * Mora Municipality, Sweden United States * Mora, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Mora, Minnesota, a city * M ...

'' (Hemsl.) Ducke (Panama, Colombia) *''

Mora paraensis Mora may refer to: People * Mora (surname) Places Sweden * Mora, Säter, Sweden * Mora, Sweden, the seat of Mora Municipality * Mora Municipality, Sweden United States * Mora, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Mora, Minnesota, a city * ...

'' (Ducke) Ducke — pracuuba (Brazil) Some of the species are important for timber production. ''Mora excelsa'' and ''Mora gonggrijpii'' are also known as

nato The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, and are commonly used in guitar body and neck construction.

References

External links

Mora excelsa and Mora gonggrijpii
Caesalpinioideae Trees of Guyana Trees of Trinidad and Tobago Fabaceae genera {{Caesalpinioideae-stub