''Vauquelinia'', commonly known as the rosewoods, 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 the rose family,

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

. It consists of two species of

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 found in the southwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and northwestern

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 ...

. The genus was named for French chemist

Louis Nicolas Vauquelin Prof. Louis Nicolas Vauquelin Royal Society of London, FRS(For) HFRSE (16 May 1763 – 14 November 1829) was a French pharmacist and chemist. He was the discoverer of both chromium and beryllium. Early life Vauquelin was born at Saint-André-d'H ...

(1763-1829). The nectar provided by these plants is commonly fed on by wasps such as ''

Polistes instabilis ''Polistes instabilis'', a type of paper wasp, is a neotropical, eusocial wasp (family Vespidae) that can be found in tropical and subtropical areas such as Central America and South America. It can be easily identified with its characteristic y ...

''. '' V. californica'' is of some interest as an ornamental.

Taxonomy

''Vauquelinia'', along with ''

Lindleya ''Lindleya'' is a genus of Mexican evergreen trees of the family Rosaceae. The sole species, ''L. mespiloides'', grows to a height of and bears solitary white fragrant flowers in summer. The fruit are dry dehiscent capsules. Taxonomic his ...

'' and ''

Kageneckia ''Kageneckia'' is a genus of flowering plant in family Rosaceae. Taxonomic history ''Kageneckia'', along with ''Vauquelinia ''Vauquelinia'', commonly known as the rosewoods, is a genus of the rose family, Rosaceae. It consists of two specie ...

'' were formerly placed in family

Quillaja ''Quillaja'' is a genus of flowering plants, the only extant genus in the family Quillajaceae with two or three known species. It was once thought to be in the rose family, Rosaceae, but recent research shows it belongs in its own family. The i ...

ceae, and have dry

dehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that op ...

fruit. Unlike the

pome In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Well-known pomes include the apple, pear, and quince. Etymology The word ''pome'' entered English in the late 14th century, and re ...

-fruited members of tribe Maleae within the Rosaceae, which share a base chromosome number of 17 with ''Lindleya'' and ''Kageneckia'', ''Vauquelinia'' has a base chromosome number of 15.

Species

, four species and some subspecies were recognized: *'' Vauquelinia angustifolia'' Rydb. *'' Vauquelinia australis'' Standl. *''

Vauquelinia californica ''Vauquelinia californica'', commonly known as Arizona rosewood, is an evergreen species of shrub or tree, in the rose family, Rosaceae. The dark brown wood streaked with red, and is hard and very heavy, a beautiful 'rosewood.' It has dense whit ...

'' (Torr.) Sarg. — Arizona rosewood **''Vauquelinia californica'' ssp. ''californica'' **''Vauquelinia californica'' ssp. ''pauciflora'' (Standl.) Hess & Henrickson *'' Vauquelinia corymbosa'' Humb. & Bonpl. — slimleaf rosewood **''Vauquelinia corymbosa'' ssp. ''angustifolia'' (Rydb.) Hess & Henrickson **''Vauquelinia corymbosa'' ssp. ''corymbosa''

References

* * Taxa named by Aimé Bonpland Rosaceae genera {{Amygdaloideae-stub