''Ceratonia'' is small
genus of
flowering trees in the
pea
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...
family,
,
endemic to the
Mediterranean region and the
Middle East. Its best known member, the
carob tree
The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and lands ...
, is cultivated for its pods and has been widely introduced to regions with similar climates. The genus was long considered
monotypic, but a second species, ''
Ceratonia oreothauma
''Ceratonia oreothauma'' is a species of tree native to Oman and Somaliland.
Description
''Ceratonia oreothauma'' is a small tree with gnarled branches and rough bark which grows up to 8 meters high. It is evergreen, with singly-pinnate leaves b ...
'', was identified in 1979 from
Oman and
Somalia. It is in the tribe
Umtizieae, 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 ...
.
An obsolete name for ''Ceratonia'' was ''Acalis''.
Fossil record
†''Ceratonia emarginata''
fossils
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...
are known from the
Miocene of
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Hungary.
[Leguminosae species from the territory of ]Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
by Alexandra K. Shakryl, Advances in Legume Systematics: Part 4, The Fossil Record, Ed. P.S. Herendeen & Dilcher, 1992, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,
References
Images
Image:Carruba.jpg, Fruit
Image:Ceratonia siliqua, total.jpg, Tree
Image:Johannisbrotbaum_bluete.jpg, Flowers
Image:Garroves.JPG, Fruits
{{Taxonbar, from=Q159376
Caesalpinioideae
Fabaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
