''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s in the family

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large 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 species. The Rhamnaceae ...

, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, the Americas, southern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

, northern Australia, and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

islands. Common names include nakedwood, snakewood, greenheart and hogplum. The generic name is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

word ''coluber'', meaning "snake", and refers to the snake-like stems or stamens. The species are shrubs and small

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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s growing tall, with simple ovate leaves. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

s are small, greenish-white or yellowish; the

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

is a capsule containing three

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

s. The genus is at least in part a

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically define ...

, and revision will likely result in the renaming of a number of species to different genera. ''

Colubrina asiatica ''Colubrina asiatica'' is a shrub in the family Rhamnaceae that is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World, from eastern Africa to India, southeast Asia, tropical Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Common names include lat ...

'', native to tropical Asia, eastern Africa and northern Australia, has become an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Selected species

*''

Colubrina angustior ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names inc ...

'' (

M.C.Johnst. Marshall Conring Johnston (born May 10, 1930) is an American botanist who made several explorations in Mexico and specialized in plants in the family Gesneriaceae. Johnston was born in San Antonio in the family of Theodore Harris Johnston and Luci ...

) G.L.Nesom (eastern Mexico) *''

Colubrina arborescens ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names inclu ...

'' ( Mill.) Sarg. – Greenheart (southern

, southern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, the Caribbean,

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

) *''

Colubrina articulata ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names inc ...

'' ( Capuron) Figueiredo *''

'' ( L.) Brongn. – Asian nakedwood, ''Ānapanapa kukuku'' ( Hawaiian) (

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

) *''

Colubrina beccariana ''Colubrina beccariana'' is a tree of tropical Asia in the family Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order ...

'' Warb. (Malaysia) *''

Colubrina californica ''Colubrina californica'', also known as Las Animas nakedwood, is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. Distribution and habitat It is native to the Sonoran Desert of the southwestern United States (in California, Nevada, and Arizona) ...

I.M.Johnst. I. M. (Ivan Murray) Johnston (February 28, 1898–May 31, 1960), was a United States Botany, botanist. He studied at Pomona College in Claremont, California and at Harvard University. His plant collections are housed in the ''Rancho Santa Ana Bot ...

– Las Animas nakedwood *''

Colubrina cubensis ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include ...

'' (

Jacq. Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin (16 February 172726 October 1817) was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany. Biography Born in Leiden in the Netherlands, he studied medicine at Leiden University, then moved first to P ...

) Brongn. – Cuban nakedwood (southern Florida,

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the arc ...

, Cayman Islands,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

) *'' Colubrina decipiens'' (Baill.) Capuron *'' Colubrina elliptica'' ( Sw.) Brizicky & W.L.Stern – mabi, soldierwood (

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of ...

, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Venezuela) *'' Colubrina ferruginosa'' Brongn. *'' Colubrina glandulosa'' Perkins – glandular nakedwood *'' Colubrina greggii''

S.Watson Sereno Watson (December 1, 1826 in East Windsor Hill, Connecticut – March 9, 1892 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) was an American botanist. Graduating from Yale in 1847 in Biology, he drifted through various occupations until, in California, he j ...

– Sierra nakedwood *'' Colubrina humbertii'' (H.Perrier) Capuron *''

Colubrina nicholsonii ''Colubrina nicholsonii'' (Pondo weeping thorn, af, Pondo-treurdoring) is a species of tree in the family Rhamnaceae. It is a protected species endemic to South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the s ...

'' Van Wyk & Schrire – Pondo snakewood, Pondo weeping thorn, af, Pondo-treurdoring *'' Colubrina oppositifolia'' Brongn. ex H.Mann – ''kauila'' (

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

) *'' Colubrina pedunculata'' Baker f. (

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

) *'' Colubrina pubescens'' Kurz *''

Colubrina stricta ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include ...

'' Engelm. ex M.C. Johnst. – Comal nakedwood *''

Colubrina texensis ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names inclu ...

'' (

Torr. John Torrey (August 15, 1796 – March 10, 1873) was an American botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focusing on ...

A.Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

) A.Gray – snakewood or Texan hogplum (

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, northern Mexico) *''

Colubrina verrucosa ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include ...

'' (Urb.) M.C.Johnst. – Urban's nakedwood *''

Colubrina yucatanensis ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names inc ...

'' (M.C.Johnst.) G.L.Nesom (

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

)

Formerly placed here

* '' Alphitonia excelsa'' (Fenzl) Reissek ex Benth. (as ''C. excelsa'' Fenzl)

Ecology

''Colubrina'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e of some Lepidoptera species including ''

Bucculatrix kendalli ''Bucculatrix kendalli'' is a moth in the family Bucculatricidae. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Texas. It was described by André Blanchard and Edward C. Knudson in 1985. The larvae feed on ''Colubrina texensis''. ...

'' which feeds exclusively on ''C. texensis''.

Uses

In the Caribbean, the leaves and/or fruit and in some cases the bark of some species are used to produce a soft drink called

mauby Mauby (in Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Grenada, Guyana, Bermuda, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla), also known as ''maví (or mabí)'' in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, ''mabi'' ...

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile: ''Colubrina''Madagascar Flora catalogue: ''Colubrina''Flora of China: ''Colubrina'' checklistGlobal Invasive Species Database: ''Colubrina asiatica''Jepson Flora Project: ''Colubrina californica''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2359212 Rhamnaceae genera Taxa named by Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart Taxa named by Louis Claude Richard