''Bursera'' is a genus with about 100 described species of flowering shrubs and trees varying in size up to high. It is the type genus for

Burseraceae The Burseraceae are a moderate-sized family of 17-19 genera and about 540 species of woody flowering plants. The actual numbers given in taxonomic sources differ according to taxonomic revision at the time of writing. The Burseraceae are also ...

. The trees are native (often for many species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

) to the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, from the southern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

south through to northern

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 ...

, in tropical and warm temperate forest habitats. It is named after the 17th-century Danish botanist Joachim Burser. Several Mexican species (such as '' B. aloexylon'' and '' B. delpechiana'') produce a type of wood known as ''linaloe'' (from

Mexican Spanish Mexican Spanish () is the variety of dialects and sociolects of the Spanish language spoken in Mexico and its bordering regions. Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, more than double any other country in the world. Spanish is spo ...

, from Latin , ). They contain the aromatic oil

linalool Linalool () refers to two enantiomers of a naturally occurring terpene alcohol found in many flowers and spice plants. Together with geraniol, nerol, and citronellol, linalool is one of the rose alcohols. Linalool has multiple commercial app ...

. A number of species from tropical

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

were once included in this genus, but are now treated in the genus ''Protium''. The

Bursera graveolens ''Bursera graveolens'', known in Spanish as palo santo ('sacred wood'), is a wild tree native to the Yucatán Peninsula and also found in Peru and Venezuela. ''Bursera'' ''graveolens'' is found in the seasonally dry tropical forests of Peru, Ve ...

tree (also known as Palo Santo) belongs to this genus.

Species

list sources :

Formerly placed here

*'' Canarium paniculatum'' (Lam.) Benth. ex Engl. (as ''B. paniculata'' Lam.) *'' Protium serratum'' (Wall. ex Colebr.) Engl. (as ''B. serrata'' Wall. ex Colebr.)

Uses

Caranna Caranna is a hard, brittle, resinous gum, obtained from the West Indian tree ''Bursera acuminata'' (family Amyridaceae) and the South American trees ''Protium (plant) carana'', ''P. altissimum'', and '' Pachylobus hexandrus''. It has an aromatic ...

, medicinal gum

Gallery

Image:Bursera citronella (syn B delpichiana) trunks at Hyderabad, AP W IMG 7219.jpg, ''

Bursera penicillata ''Bursera penicillata'' is a Mexican species of trees in the frankincense family in the soapwood order. It is widespread in much of Mexico from Sonora and Chihuahua to Oaxaca and Veracruz. ''Bursera penicillata'' is a small tree. Leaves are p ...

'' trunks File:Bursera citronella (syn B delpichiana) fruits & leaves at Hyderabad, AP W IMG 7070.jpg, ''

'' fruits and leaves File:Bursera citronella (syn B delpichiana) trunk at Hyderabad, AP W IMG 7071.jpg, ''

'' trunk

References

Burseraceae genera {{Sapindales-stub