''Brya'' is a genus of

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

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

family,

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. It includes seven species of shrubs or small spreading trees native to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

in the Caribbean. 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 widely ...

, and was recently assigned to the informal

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

''Pterocarpus'' clade of the

Dalbergieae The tribe Dalbergieae is an early-branching clade within the flowering plant subfamily Faboideae (or Papilionaceae). Within that subfamily, it belongs to an unranked clade called the dalbergioids. It was recently revised to include many genera ...

. Species include ''

Brya ebenus ''Brya ebenus'', the Jamaican raintree, espino de sabana, granadillo, cocus wood, cocuswood, and coccuswood, is a species of plant in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to Cuba, and it has been introduced to Jamaica. Horticulturally it is kn ...

'', a valuable timber tree. Typical habitats include seasonally dry tropical forest and shrubland.

Species

Seven species are accepted: * '' Brya buxifolia'' (Murray) Urb. – eastern Cuba and Hispaniola * '' Brya chrysogonii'' León & Alain – southeastern Cuba * '' Brya depressa'' – Cuba * ''

'' (L.) DC. – Cuba * '' Brya hirsuta'' Borhidi – Cuba * '' Brya microphylla'' Bisse – Cuba * '' Brya subinermis'' León & Alain – Cuba (Sierra de Moa)

References

Dalbergieae Fabaceae genera Flora of the Caribbean {{Dalbergieae-stub