''Condalia'' is a genus of spiny

shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

s in the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Rhamneae of the

buckthorn ''Rhamnus'' is a genus of about 140 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from tall (rarely to ) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found thr ...

family,

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large Family (biology), family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 specie ...

. It was named for Antonio Condal, an 18th century

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

physician. Members of the genus are native to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (Ancient Greek 'dry') shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habitat ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The ranges of each species vary considerably; some are confined to only a few square miles, while others can be found on an area up to .

Common names

''Condalia'' species are often referred to as bluewood, purple haw, logwood, or snakewood in English. Some southern hemisphere species are known as "piquillín" or "yuna". The name

snakewood Snakewood is a common name of several different plants: * ''Acacia'' species (family Fabaceae) in Australia, ''Acacia eremaea'', ''Acacia intorta'', ''Acacia xiphophylla'' * ''Brosimum guianense'' (= ''Piratinera guianensis'') (family Moraceae) (Le ...

is broadly used and does not indicate any particular species.

Taxonomy

Research performed on the members of ''Condalia'' usually concerns only the species native to

; taxonomy is determined for only one group of species. As a result, a consensus has not been reached regarding the composition of the genus.

Uses

The amount of research conducted on the economic and

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

uses of ''Condalia'' species is small. However, biochemical features of this genus are currently being studied. The fruit of ''Condalia hookeri'' are edible, consumed by birds, and can be made into jelly.

Species

* ''

Condalia buxifolia ''Condalia'' is a genus of Thorns, spines, and prickles, spiny shrubs in the Tribe (biology), tribe Rhamneae of the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae. It was named for Antonio Condal, an 18th century Spain, Spanish physician. Members of the genus are ...

'' Reissek * '' Condalia correllii'' M.C.Johnst. – Correll's snakewood * '' Condalia ericoides'' ( A.Gray) M.C.Johnst. – javelina bush * '' Condalia globosa'' I.M.Johnst. – bitter snakewood (

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

, northwestern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

) * '' Condalia hookeri'' M.C.Johnst. – Brazilian bluewood * '' Condalia mexicana''

Schltdl. Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (27 November 1794, Xanten – 12 October 1866, Halle an der Saale, Halle) was a German botanist. Life and work Von Schlechtendal was born in Xanten, Xanten am Rhein and when his father Diederich Fried ...

- Mexican bluewood * '' Condalia microphylla'' Cav. – piquillín (

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

) * '' Condalia spathulata'' A.Gray – knifeleaf condalia * '' Condalia velutina'' I.M.Johnst. * '' Condalia viridis'' I.M.Johnst. – green snakewood * '' Condalia warnockii'' M.C.Johnst. – warnock snakewood * '' Condalia weberbaeuri'' Perkins – yana yana

Formerly placed here

* '' Ziziphus obtusifolia'' (Hook. ex Torr. & A.Gray) A.Gray (as ''C. lycioides'' (A.Gray) Weberb.)

References

Condalia taxa in the US
{{Taxonbar, from=Q145864 Rhamnaceae genera Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles