''Xylosma'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 family

Salicaceae The Salicaceae is the willow family of flowering plants. The traditional family (Salicaceae ''sensu stricto'') included the willows, poplar, aspen, and cottonwoods. Genetic studies summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) have greatly ...

. It contains around 100

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 ...

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

shrubs and

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s commonly known as brushhollies, xylosmas, or, more ambiguously, " logwoods". The generic name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words ξύλον (''xylon''), meaning "wood," and ὀσμή (''osmé''), meaning "smell," referring to the fragrant wood of some of the species. The

Takhtajan system A system of plant taxonomy, the Takhtajan system of plant classification was published by Armen Takhtajan, in several versions from the 1950s onwards. It is usually compared to the Cronquist system. It admits paraphyletic groups. Systems The f ...

places it in the family

Flacourtiaceae The Flacourtiaceae is a defunct family of flowering plants whose former members have been scattered to various families, mostly to the Achariaceae and Salicaceae. It was so vaguely defined that hardly anything seemed out of place there and it beca ...

, which is considered defunct by the

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants (angiosperms) that reflects new knowledge about plant relationships disc ...

Description

The leaves are

alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

, simple, entire or finely toothed, long. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are small, yellowish, produced on racemes long, usually dioecious, and have a strong scent. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a small purple-black berry in diameter that contains 2 to 8

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

Range

The genus is predominantly native to the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referr ...

and subtropics, from the Caribbean,

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. ...

, northern

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 sout ...

, the Pacific Islands, southern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and northern

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

. Two species, '' X. congesta'' and '' X. japonicum'', are found in warm-

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

eastern Asia ( China,

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and Japan). Molecular phylogenetic analysis suggest that the genus '' Lasiochlamys'' from New Caledonia may be nested in ''Xylosma''.

Ecology

''Xylosma'' foliage is used as food by the caterpillars of some lepidoptera, such as the rustic (''

Cupha erymanthis ''Cupha erymanthis'', the rustic, is a species of brush-footed butterfly found in forested areas of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. The males and females are identical. Description Upperside The upperside of the rustic is ochraceous ...

''), which feeds on '' X. racemosa'', and the common leopard ('' Phalanta phalantha''), which feeds on '' X. longifolium'' and ''X. racemosa''.

Uses

The main use for the genus is as

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoin ...

and

topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...

plants among gardeners in desert and chaparral climates. '' Xylosma congesta'' is the species usually seen in garden hedges and in road landscaping, despite the fact it bears thorns. Other species cultivated for these purposes include '' X. bahamensis'', '' X. flexuosa'', and '' X. heterophyllum''. '' X. longifolium'' is sometimes grown in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

for its edible fruits. In addition, a

medicinal Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

extract is made from its young leaves that acts as

antispasmodic An antispasmodic (synonym: spasmolytic) is a pharmaceutical drug or other agent that suppresses muscle spasms. Smooth muscle spasm One type of antispasmodics is used for smooth muscle relaxation, especially in tubular organs of the gastrointest ...

, narcotic, and sedative. 15 species of the genus have reported medicinal or veterinary use.

Selected species

Species include: * '' Xylosma bahamensis'' ( Britton) Standl. – Bahamas xylosma (

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

) * '' Xylosma boliviana'' Sleumer * '' Xylosma boulindae'' Sleumer ( New Caledonia) * '' Xylosma buxifolia'' A.Gray – boxleaf xylosma (the Caribbean) * '' Xylosma capillipes''

Guillaumin Guillaumin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Armand Guillaumin (1842–1927), French impressionist painter and lithographer *André Guillaumin (1885–1974), French botanist *Colette Guillaumin Colette Guillaumin (28 ...

(New Caledonia) * '' Xylosma ciliatifolia'' (Clos) Eichler * '' Xylosma congesta'' (Lour.) Merrill – shiny xylosma * '' Xylosma crenata'' H.St.John – sawtooth logwood ( Kauai in Hawaii) * '' Xylosma fawcettii'' Urb. (

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

) * '' Xylosma flexuosa'' (

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850), also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist. He is known for being one of the first to study and categorise plants from the American continents, ...

) Hemsl. – brushholly (

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 ...

) * '' Xylosma glaberrima'' Sleumer (

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 ...

) * '' Xylosma grossecrenata'' (Sleumer) Lescot (New Caledonia) * ''

Xylosma hawaiensis ''Xylosma hawaiensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. Common names include Hawai'i brushholly, ''maua'', and ''ae'' (Maui only). Description ''Xylosma hawaiensis'' is a small deciduous tree, ...

Seem. Berthold Carl Seemann (25 February 1825, in Hanover, Germany – 10 October 1871, in Nicaragua, Central America), was a German botanist. He travelled widely and collected and described plants from the Pacific and South America. In 1844 he trave ...

– Hawaiian brushholly, ''maua'' (

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

) * '' Xylosma heterophylla'' (H.Karst.) Gilg. ( Colombia) * '' Xylosma inaequinervia'' Sleumer (New Caledonia) * '' Xylosma japonica'' (Thunb.) A.Gr. * '' Xylosma kaalaensis'' Sleumer (New Caledonia) * '' Xylosma latifolia'' J.Hk. & Thoms. (

) * '' Xylosma longifolia'' Clos (Western

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

) * '' Xylosma maidenii'' * '' Xylosma molesta'' Sleumer (New Caledonia) * '' Xylosma obovata'' (Karsten) Triana & Planchon ( Colombia) * '' Xylosma orbiculata'' ( J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.) G.Forst. ( Fiji,

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

) * '' Xylosma ovata'' * '' Xylosma pachyphylla'' (Krug & Urb.) Urb. – spiny logwood (

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

) * '' Xylosma palawanensis'' Mend. (

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

) * '' Xylosma panamensis'' Turcz. * '' Xylosma parvifolia'' Jessup * '' Xylosma peltata'' (Sleumer) Lescot (New Caledonia) * '' Xylosma pininsularis''

(New Caledonia) * '' Xylosma prockia'' (Turcz.) Turcz. * '' Xylosma proctorii'' Sleumer (Jamaica) * '' Xylosma pseudosalzmannii'' Sleumer * '' Xylosma racemosa'' (Siebold & Zucc.) Miq. * '' Xylosma ruiziana'' Sleumer (

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

) * '' Xylosma salzmanni'' Eich. * '' Xylosma samoensis'' Sleumer ( Savai'i) * '' Xylosma schaefferioides'' A.Gray – white logwood (

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, a ...

) * '' Xylosma schwaneckeana'' Urb. – Schwaneck's logwood (Puerto Rico) * '' Xylosma senticosa'' Hance * '' Xylosma serpentina'' Sleumer (New Caledonia) * '' Xylosma serrata'' (Sw.) Urb. * '' Xylosma simulans'' A.C.Sm. * '' Xylosma spiculifera'' (Tul.) Triana & Planch. (Colombia) * '' Xylosma terrae-reginae'' C.T.White & Sleumer (NSW and Queensland, Australia) * '' Xylosma tuberculata'' Sleumer (New Caledonia) * '' Xylosma tweediana'' (Clos) Eichler

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5222959 Salicaceae genera Taxa named by Georg Forster Dioecious plants