''Bocoa'' 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

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

family,

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

(Leguminosae). It belongs to the subfamily

Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family. This subfamily is wide ...

(Papilionoideae). Several species in the genus were recently reclassified as ''

Trischidium ''Trischidium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. It was recently reinstated after existing for some time as a junior synonym of ''Bocoa ''Bocoa'' is a genus of flowering p ...

''. The genus is largely limited to the

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a ...

and

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 ...

. ''

Bocoa prouacensis ''Bocoa'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae). It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae (Papilionoideae). Several species in the genus were recently reclassified as '' Trischidium''. The genus is largely l ...

'' is the type species for this genus. Its name is derived from "Boco d'Aprouak" where ''Aprouak'' refers to the

Approuague river The Approuague river (or Apuruaque in Tupi) is a major river in French Guiana. It is long. It runs north from the Tumuk Humak Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, almost parallel with the Oyapock, with its mouth by the Pointe Béhague cape. The A ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

. It is predominantly found in French Guiana but is also substantially present in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. Timber from this species is one of the hardest and densest in the world. '' B. viridiflora'' is the largest tree in the genus, reaching 30 m. in height, and is the most widely distributed. Specimens sources for '' B. ratteri'' are limited to

Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...

. The newest member of'' Bocoa'' to be described is '' B. marionii''. It was found in the Upper Essequibo region of Guyana and is most morphologically similar to ''B. prouacensis''.

References

Swartzieae Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Christian Fusée-Aublet Fabaceae genera {{Faboideae-stub