''Balanites'' is an

Afrotropical The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

and

Indomalayan The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Ind ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

caltrop A caltrop (also known as caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, calthrop, jackrock or crow's foot''Battle of Alesia'' (Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 52 BC), Battlefield Detectives program, (2006), rebroadcast: 2008-09-08 on History C ...

family,

Zygophyllaceae Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera. Plants in the family Zygophyllaceae may be trees, shrubs, or herbs. They are often found in dry habit ...

. The name ''Balanites'' derives from the Greek word for an

acorn The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...

and refers to the fruit. It was coined by Alire Delile in 1813.

Species

The following species are included in the genus ''Balanites'': * ''

Balanites aegyptiaca ''Balanites aegyptiaca'' (also known as the Egyptian balsam and Lalob in Sudan) is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East. ...

'' ( L.) Delile *''

Balanites angolensis ''Balanites angolensis'', or Angolan green-thorn, is a species of tree from southern Africa, it is a member of the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. Description ''Balanites angolensis'' is a small semi-deciduous tree or shrub which grows to up to ...

'' (Welw.) Mildbr. & Schltr. *''

Balanites glabra ''Balanites'' is an Afrotropical, Palearctic and Indomalayan genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. The name ''Balanites'' derives from the Greek word for an acorn and refers to the fruit. It was coined by Alire Delile ...

'' Mildbr. & Schltr. * '' Balanites maughamii'' Sprague *''

Balanites pedicellaris ''Balanites pedicellaris'', the small green-thorn or small torchwood is a small tree or shrub from Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a member of the caltrop family Zygophyllaceae. Description ''Balanites pedicellaris'' is a multi-stemmed shrub or small ...

'' Mildbr. & Schltr. *''

Balanites rotundifolia ''Balanites rotundifolia'', known in Swahili as Mbamba ngoma is a spiny bush or small tree from eastern Africa and southern Arabia. It is a member of the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. Description ''Balanites rotundifolia'' is a small tree o ...

'' (Tiegh.) Blatt. * ''

Balanites roxburghii ''Balanites roxburghii'' is a spiny, evergreen tree in the family Zygophyllaceae. It is common in open sandy plains of the Indian peninsula, western Rajasthan, west Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and drier parts of India. The Botanical name#Bina ...

'' Planch. *'' Balanites triflora'' Tiegh. *''

Balanites wilsoniana ''Balanites'' is an Afrotropical, Palearctic and Indomalayan genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. The name ''Balanites'' derives from the Greek word for an acorn and refers to the fruit. It was coined by Alire Deli ...

'' Dawe & Sprague

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Zygophyllales genera