''Xylosma'' 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 ...

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, which ...

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 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, "

logwood ''Haematoxylum campechianum'' (blackwood, bloodwood tree, bluewood, campeachy tree, campeachy wood, campeche logwood, campeche wood, Jamaica wood, logwood or logwood tree) is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is na ...

s". 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 ...

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 disco ...

Description

The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

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

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s long, usually

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, 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 A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

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 referred to ...

and

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

, from the

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 ...

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 southe ...

, the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

, 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 area ...

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 ecologica ...

. 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 t ...

eastern Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

(

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

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 Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

). Molecular phylogenetic analysis suggest that the genus ''

Lasiochlamys ''Lasiochlamys'' is a genus of flowering plants endemic to New Caledonia in the family Salicaceae. Molecular phylogenetic analysis suggest that ''Lasiochlamys'' may be nested in the more widespread genus ''Xylosma ''Xylosma'' is a genus of f ...

'' from

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

may be nested in ''Xylosma''.

Ecology

''Xylosma'' foliage is used as food by the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s of some

lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

, 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 adjoini ...

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 A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

and

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

climates. '' Xylosma congesta'' is the species usually seen in garden hedges and in road landscaping, despite the fact it bears

thorns Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

. 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 gastrointesti ...

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

, and

sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but t ...

. 15 species of the genus have reported medicinal or veterinary use.

Selected species

Species include: * ''

Xylosma bahamensis ''Xylosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Salicaceae. It contains around 100 species of evergreen shrubs and trees commonly known as brushhollies, xylosmas, or, more ambiguously, "logwoods". The generic name is derived from the Gr ...

'' ( Britton)

Standl. Paul Carpenter Standley (March 21, 1884 – June 2, 1963) was an American botanist known for his work on neotropical plants. __TOC__ Standley was born on March 21, 1884 in Avalon, Missouri. He attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri an ...

– 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 Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

) * '' Xylosma boliviana''

Sleumer Hermann Otto Sleumer (February 21, 1906 in Saarbrücken – October 1, 1993 in Oegstgeest) was a Dutch botanist of German birth. The plant genera ''Sleumerodendron'' Virot ( Proteaceae) and ''Sleumeria'' Utteridge, Nagam. & Teo (Icacinaceae T ...

* '' Xylosma boulindae'' Sleumer (

) * '' Xylosma buxifolia''

A.Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

– boxleaf xylosma (the

) * ''

Xylosma capillipes ''Xylosma capillipes'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae. It is endemic to New Caledonia. References capillipes ''Capillipes'' is a genus of fungi in the family Helotiaceae The Helotiaceae are a family of fungi i ...

Guillaumin Guillaumin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Armand Guillaumin (1842–1927), French impressionist painter and lithographer *André Guillaumin André Louis Joseph Edmond Armand Guillaumin (21 June 1885 in Arrou &ndash ...

(New Caledonia) * ''

Xylosma ciliatifolia ''Xylosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Salicaceae. It contains around 100 species of evergreen shrubs and trees commonly known as brushhollies, xylosmas, or, more ambiguously, "logwoods". The generic name is derived from the Gr ...

'' (Clos) Eichler * '' Xylosma congesta'' (Lour.) Merrill – shiny xylosma * '' Xylosma crenata'' H.St.John – sawtooth logwood (

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

in Hawaii) * ''

Xylosma fawcettii ''Xylosma fawcettii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae. It is endemic to Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater An ...

Urb. Ignatz Urban (7 January 1848 – 7 January 1931) was a German botanist. He is known for his contributions to the flora of the Caribbean and Brazil, and for his work as curator of the Berlin Botanical Garden. Born the son of a brewer, Urban s ...

(

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 ''Xylosma flexuosa'', commonly known as brushholly or coronilla, is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae, that is native to southern North America and northern South America. Its range stretches from southern Texas in the United ...

'' (

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. William Botting Hemsley (29 December 1843, in East Hoathly – 7 October 1924, in Kent) was an English botanist and 1909 Victoria Medal (horticulture), Victoria Medal of Honour recipient. He was born in East Hoathly, Sussex and in 1860 started wo ...

– 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 ''Xylosma glaberrima'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae. It is endemic to southeast Brazil, in Paraná (state), Rio de Janeiro (state), and São Paulo (state). It occurs in Restinga and other Atlantic Forest The At ...

'' 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 stat ...

) * '' Xylosma heterophylla'' (H.Karst.) Gilg. (

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 ...

) * '' Xylosma inaequinervia'' Sleumer (New Caledonia) * ''

Xylosma japonica ''Xylosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Salicaceae. It contains around 100 species of evergreen shrubs and trees commonly known as brushhollies, xylosmas, or, more ambiguously, "logwoods". The generic name is derived from the Gr ...

'' (Thunb.) A.Gr. * '' Xylosma kaalaensis'' Sleumer (New Caledonia) * ''

Xylosma latifolia ''Flacourtia latifolia'', synonym ''Xylosma latifolia'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae. It is native to Karnataka and Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1 ...

'' J.Hk. & Thoms. (

) * ''

Xylosma longifolia ''Xylosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Salicaceae. It contains around 100 species of evergreen shrubs and trees commonly known as brushhollies, xylosmas, or, more ambiguously, "logwoods". The generic name is derived from the Gr ...

'' 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 100 ...

) * ''

Xylosma maidenii ''Xylosma maidenii'', commonly known as the ship tree or shitum wood is a small tree in the genus ''Xylosma'' of the family Salicaceae, endemic to the lowland forests of Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māo ...

'' * '' Xylosma molesta'' Sleumer (New Caledonia) * '' Xylosma obovata'' (Karsten) Triana & Planchon (

) * ''

Xylosma orbiculata ''Xylosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Salicaceae. It contains around 100 species of evergreen shrubs and trees commonly known as brushhollies, xylosmas, or, more ambiguously, "logwoods". The generic name is derived from the Gr ...

'' (

J.R.Forst. Johann Reinhold Forster (22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German Reformed (Calvinist) pastor and naturalist of partially Scottish descent who made contributions to the early ornithology of Europe and North America. He is best known ...

G.Forst. Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold F ...

) G.Forst. (

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

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) * ''Xylosma ovata'' * ''Xylosma pachyphylla'' (Krug & Urb.) Urb. – spiny logwood (Puerto Rico) * ''Xylosma palawanensis'' Mend. (Philippines) * ''Xylosma panamensis'' Nicolai Stepanovitch Turczaninow, Turcz. * ''Xylosma parvifolia'' L.W. Jessup, 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) * ''Xylosma salzmanni'' Eich. * ''Xylosma samoensis'' Sleumer (Savai'i) * ''Xylosma schaefferioides'' A.Gray – white logwood (Greater Antilles) * ''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'' Cyril Tenison White, C.T.White & Sleumer (NSW and Queensland, Australia) * ''Xylosma tuberculata'' Sleumer (New Caledonia) * ''Xylosma tweediana'' (Clos) Eichler

References

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