''Byrsonima'' is one of about 75

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

in the

Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises about 73 genera and 1315 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics. About 80% of the genera and 90% of the species occur in the New World ( ...

, a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 order

Malpighiales The Malpighiales comprise one of the largest Order (biology), orders of flowering plants. The order is very diverse, with well-known members including willows, Viola (plant), violets, aspens and Populus, poplars, Euphorbia pulcherrima, poinsett ...

. In particular in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

, they are known as locustberries (which also may refer specifically to '' Byrsonima coccolobifolia'' or '' Byrsonima lucida''). Another widely seen common name is serrets or serrettes. Nanche

''Byrsonima'' comprises over 135

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

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, and

subshrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or undershrub is either a small shrub (e.g. prostrate shrubs) or a perennial that is largely herbaceous but slightly woody at the base (e.g. garden pink and florist's chrysanthemum). The term is often interch ...

s found in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

tropics 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

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately ...

from southern

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 ...

, southeastern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

to southeastern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The plants have entire leaves, yellow flowers, and fleshy, edible fruits called nance; '' B. crassifolia'' in particular is known by that name, as it is an

underutilized crop Neglected and underutilised crops are Domestication, domesticated plant species used for food, medicine, trading, or cultural practices within local communities but not widely commodified or studied as part of mainstream agriculture. Such crops m ...

of some commercial importance in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. They are primarily pollinated by various

oligolectic The term oligolecty is used in pollination ecology to refer to bees that exhibit a narrow, specialized preference for pollen sources, typically to a single family or genus of flowering plants. The preference may occasionally extend broadly to m ...

native bees (e.g., ''

Centris The genus ''Centris'' contains circa 250 species of large apid bees occurring in the Neotropical and Nearctic realms, from Kansas to Argentina. Most females of these bees possess adaptations for carrying floral oils rather than (or in additi ...

'', '' Epicharis'', and '' Tetrapedia'') that are specialized to collect floral oils, as the flowers do not offer the typical floral rewards. The fruits of serrette trees are important in the diets of certain wildlife, such as the

golden conure The golden parakeet or golden conure (''Guaruba guarouba''), or the Queen of Bavaria conure is a medium-sized golden-yellow Neotropical parrot native to the Amazon Basin of interior northern Brazil. It is the only species placed in the genus ''G ...

(''Guaruba guarouba''), while the leaves of ''Byrsonima'' are food for some of the curious American moth-butterflies (Hedylidae). Plantings of ''B. crassifolia'' in the dry

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

s of

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

may even be suitable as substitute habitat for the Tehuantepec jackrabbit (''Lepus flavigularis''), an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

presently only found in three small

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

populations. '' Maricao'' (''B. spicata'') is the namesake tree and

floral emblem In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used t ...

Maricao, Puerto Rico Maricao () is a Maricao barrio-pueblo, town and the second-least populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico; it is located at the western edge of the Cordillera Central, Puerto Rico, Cordillera Central. It is a small town ...

, and figured on the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of this city.

Selected species

* '' Byrsonima basiloba'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima coccolobifolia'' ( Spreng.)

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850) was a German botanist. He was also known as Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth. He was one of the early systematic botanists who focused on studying the plants of th ...

* '' Byrsonima coriacea'' ( L.)

* '' Byrsonima crassa'' Nied. * '' Byrsonima crassifolia'' (L.) Kunth – nance, savanna serrette, golden spoon, ''murici, muruci'' (Brazil), ''nanche'' (Mexico) * '' Byrsonima crispa'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima cydonaefolia'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima horneana'' Britton & Small (

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

) * ''

Byrsonima intermedia ''Byrsonima intermedia'' is a species of plant in the Malpighiaceae family. It is found in Brazil and Paraguay. References External links

* * Byrsonima, intermedia {{Malpighiaceae-stub ...

'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima laxiflora'' Griseb. * '' Byrsonima laevigata'' (Poir.) DC. * '' Byrsonima lucida'' (Mill.) DC. – locustberry, clam cherry, gooseberry * ''

Byrsonima myricifolia ''Byrsonima'' is one of about 75 genera in the Malpighiaceae, a family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. In particular in American English, they are known as locustberries (which also may refer specifically to ''Brs ...

'' Griseb. * '' Byrsonima ophiticola'' Small ex Britton (Puerto Rico) * '' Byrsonima sericea'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima spicata'' (Cav.) DC. – ''maricao'' * '' Byrsonima subterranea'' Brade et Markgr. * '' Byrsonima tuberosa'' * '' Byrsonima variabilis'' A.Juss. * '' Byrsonima verbascifolia'' ( L.) Rich. ex Juss.

References

External links

Malpighiaceae
Malpighiaceae - description, taxonomy, phylogeny, and nomenclature

Malpighiaceae genera {{Malpighiaceae-stub