''Malpighia'' is a genus of

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 nance family, Malpighiaceae. It contains about 45 species of shrubs or small

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, all of which are native to the American

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 ...

. The generic name honours

Marcello Malpighi Marcello Malpighi (10 March 1628 – 30 November 1694) was an Italian biologist and physician, who is referred to as the "Founder of microscopical anatomy, histology & Father of physiology and embryology". Malpighi's name is borne by several ph ...

, a 17th-century

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

physician and botanist. The species grow to tall, with a dense, often thorny crown. The leaves are

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 ...

, simple, long, with an entire or serrated margin. 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 solitary or in

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

s of two to several together, each flower diameter, with five white, pink, red, or purple petals. 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 red, orange, or purple drupe, containing two or three hard

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 ...

s. '' M. emarginata'' is cultivated for its sweet and juicy fruits, which are very rich in

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...

Selected species

* '' Malpighia aquifolia'' L. * '' Malpighia cauliflora'' Proctor &

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...

(

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 ...

) * '' Malpighia coccigera'' L. – Singapore holly ( Caribbean) * '' Malpighia cubensis''

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, ...

– ''palo bronco de hoja pequeña'' (

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

) * '' Malpighia emarginata'' DC. – Barbados cherry, acerola (southern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

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 ...

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. ...

, the Caribbean, 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 ...

.) * '' Malpighia fucata'' Ker Gawl. (Puerto Rico) * ''

Malpighia glabra ''Malpighia glabra'' is a tropical fruit-bearing shrub or small 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 narr ...

'' * '' Malpighia harrisii'' Small (Jamaica) * '' Malpighia mexicana'' A.Juss. * '' Malpighia obtusifolia'' Proctor (Jamaica) * '' Malpighia polytricha'' A.Juss. * '' Malpighia proctorii'' Vivaldi (Jamaica) * '' Malpighia setosa''

Spreng. Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel (3 August 1766 – 15 March 1833) was a German botanist and physician who published an influential multivolume history of medicine, ''Versuch einer pragmatischen Geschichte der Arzneikunde'' (1792–99 in four vo ...

– bristly stingingbush (

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 ...

, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico) * '' Malpighia suberosa'' Small * '' Malpighia urens'' L. – cowhage (Caribbean)

Formerly placed here

* '' Bunchosia argentea'' (Jacq.) DC. (as ''M. argentea'' Jacq.) * ''

Bunchosia armeniaca ''Bunchosia armeniaca'' is a species in the family Malpighiaceae native to northwestern South America ( Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru). Common names include cansaboca, ciruela de fraile (friar's plum), guaimaro, indano ...

'' (Cav.) DC. (as ''M. armeniaca'' Cav. * '' Bunchosia glandulifera'' (Jacq.) Kunth (as ''M. glandulifera'' Jacq.) * '' Bunchosia glandulosa'' (Cav.) DC. (as ''M. glandulosa'' Cav.) * '' Byrsonima altissima'' (Aubl.) DC. (as ''M. altissima'' Aubl.) * ''

Byrsonima crassifolia ''Byrsonima crassifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malpighiaceae, native to tropical America. Common names used in English include nance, maricao cimun, craboo, and golden spoon. In Jamaica it is called hogberry. It's val ...

'' (L.) Kunth (as ''M. crassifolia'' L.) * '' Byrsonima densa'' (Poir.) DC. (as ''M. densa'' Poir.) * '' Byrsonima spicata'' (Cav.) DC. (as ''M. spicata'' Cav.) * '' Heteropterys multiflora'' (DC.) Hochr. (as ''M. reticulata'' Poir.)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q768283 Malpighiaceae genera