''Sideroxylon'' is a

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 ...

of trees in the

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 ...

Sapotaceae 240px, '' Madhuca longifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' in Narsapur, Medak district, India The Sapotaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology)">order Ericales">family (biology)">family of flowering plants belonging to th ...

described as a genus by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1753.Tropicos, ''Sideroxylon'' L.
/ref> They are collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

words σιδηρος (''sideros''), meaning "

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

", and ξύλον (''xylon''), meaning "wood."

Distribution

The genus is distributed mainly in

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

as well as in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, southern

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 ...

, and various oceanic islands.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> Some species, such as gum bully ('' S. lanuginosum''), '' S. tenax'', and buckthorn bully ('' S. lycioides''), are found in

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

areas of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The only

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n species, the white milkwood ('' S. inerme''), is associated with three historical sites, and these individuals were declared national monuments due to their unusual longevity.

Ecology

Several species have become rare due to logging and other forms of

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. The tambalacoque ('' S. grandiflorum'') of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

was affected by the

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

of the

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s which dispersed its seed; it was suggested that the species entirely depended on the

dodo The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinction, extinct flightless bird that was endemism, endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest relative was the also-extinct and flightles ...

(''Raphus cucullatus'') for that purpose and nearly became a victim of coextinction, but this is not correct. Bully trees provide food for the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of certain

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

, such as the bumelia webworm moth ('' Urodus parvula'') as well as several species of

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

of the genus '' Plinthocoelium'', commonly known as bumelia borers.

Species

83 species are currently accepted. * '' Sideroxylon acunae'' -

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 ...

* '' Sideroxylon alachuense'' -

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 ...

(

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 ...

) * '' Sideroxylon altamiranoi'' -

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 ...

( Hidalgo,

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

) * '' Sideroxylon americanum'' - Mexico (

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

* '' Sideroxylon anomalum'' -

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 ...

( Barahona Province,

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

) * '' Sideroxylon beguei'' -

* '' Sideroxylon bequaertii'' -

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

* '' Sideroxylon betsimisarakum'' - Madagascar * '' Sideroxylon borbonicum'' -

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

* '' Sideroxylon boutonianum'' -

* '' Sideroxylon brucebenzii'' – Mexico (Jalisco) * '' Sideroxylon bullatum'' -

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

* '' Sideroxylon canariense'' -

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

* '' Sideroxylon cantoniense'' - Southeast China * '' Sideroxylon capiri'' -

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

, West Indies * '' Sideroxylon capuronii'' - Madagascar * '' Sideroxylon cartilagineum'' - Mexico (

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

) * '' Sideroxylon celastrinum'' - United States (

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

), Mesoamerica,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, Cuba,

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

* '' Sideroxylon cinereum'' - Mauritius * '' Sideroxylon cochranei'' – Mexico (Jalisco) * '' Sideroxylon contrerasii'' - Mesoamerica * '' Sideroxylon cubense'' - West Indies * '' Sideroxylon dominicanum'' - Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) * '' Sideroxylon durifolium'' - Mexico (

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

* '' Sideroxylon ekmanianum'' - Cuba * '' Sideroxylon eriocarpum'' - Mexico (

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 ...

) * '' Sideroxylon eucoriaceum'' - Mexico (

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

* '' Sideroxylon eucuneifolium'' - Guatemala * '' Sideroxylon excavatum'' - Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca) * '' Sideroxylon fimbriatum'' - Yemen (Socotra) * '' Sideroxylon floribundum'' - Belize, Guatemala, Jamaica * '' Sideroxylon foetidissimum'' - West Indies, Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, United States (Florida) * '' Sideroxylon galeatum'' - Mauritius (

Rodrigues Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...

) * '' Sideroxylon gerrardianum'' - Madagascar * '' Sideroxylon grandiflorum'' - Mauritius * '' Sideroxylon hirtiantherum'' - Guatemala,

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

* '' Sideroxylon horridum'' - Cuba,

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

* '' Sideroxylon ibarrae'' - Guatemala ( Baja Verapaz) * '' Sideroxylon inerme'' -

(

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

to Cape Province,

), Seychelles (Aldabra), French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Juan de Nova Island, Juan de Nova I) * ''Sideroxylon jubilla'' - Cuba * ''Sideroxylon lanuginosum'' – - United States (Arizona to South Carolina, Kentucky), northeastern Mexico * ''Sideroxylon leucophyllum'' - Mexico (Baja California (state), Baja California, Sonora) * ''Sideroxylon lycioides'' – buckthorn bully - Southeastern United States (Texas to Delaware) * ''Sideroxylon macrocarpum'' - United States (Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia) * ''Sideroxylon majus'' - Réunion * ''Sideroxylon marginatum'' - Cape Verde * ''Sideroxylon mascatense'' - Ethiopia to Pakistan * ''Sideroxylon mirmulano'' - Madeira * ''Sideroxylon moaense'' - Cuba * ''Sideroxylon montanum'' - Jamaica * ''Sideroxylon nadeaudii'' - Tahiti * ''Sideroxylon nervosum'' - Myanmar * ''Sideroxylon obovatum'' - West Indies, Venezuela * ''Sideroxylon obtusifolium'' - Mexico (Veracruz) to Paraguay * ''Sideroxylon occidentale'' - Mexico (Baja California, Sonora) * ''Sideroxylon octosepalum'' - Jamaica (Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, Clarendon Parish) * ''Sideroxylon palmeri'' - Mexico * ''Sideroxylon peninsulare'' - Mexico (Baja California) * ''Sideroxylon persimile'' - Mesoamerica, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad) * ''Sideroxylon picardae'' - Hispaniola (Haiti, Dominican Republic) * ''Sideroxylon polynesicum'' - United States (Hawaii), French Polynesia (Rapa-Iti) * ''Sideroxylon portoricense'' - Mesoamerica, Greater Antilles * ''Sideroxylon puberulum'' - Mauritius * ''Sideroxylon reclinatum'' - United States (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina) * ''Sideroxylon repens'' - Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) * ''Sideroxylon retinerve'' - Honduras * ''Sideroxylon rotundifolium'' - Jamaica * ''Sideroxylon rubiginosum'' - Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) * ''Sideroxylon salicifolium'' - West Indies, Mesoamerica, Florida * ''Sideroxylon saxorum'' - Madagascar * ''Sideroxylon sessiliflorum'' - Mauritius * ''Sideroxylon socorrense'' - Mexico (Socorro Island) * ''Sideroxylon spinosum'' - Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and Western Sahara * ''Sideroxylon st-johnianum'' - Pitcairn Islands (Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands), Henderson Island) * ''Sideroxylon stenospermum'' - Mesoamerica * ''Sideroxylon stevensonii'' - Mexico (Chiapas), Belize, Guatemala * ''Sideroxylon tambolokoko'' - Madagascar * ''Sideroxylon tenax'' - United States (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina) * ''Sideroxylon tepicense'' - Mesoamerica * ''Sideroxylon thornei'' - United States (Florida, Georgia, Alabama)Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map, ''Sideroxylon thornei''
/ref> * ''Sideroxylon verruculosum'' - Mexico * ''Sideroxylon wightianum'' - China (Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangdong), Vietnam

Formerly placed here

* ''Micropholis acutangula'' (as ''S. acutangulum'' ) * ''Micropholis crassipedicellata'' (as ''S. crassipedicellatum'' ) * ''Micropholis guyanensis'' (as ''S. guyanense'' ) * ''Micropholis rugosa'' (as ''S. rugosum'' ) * ''Olinia ventosa'' (as ''S. cymosum'' ) * ''Planchonella australis'' (as ''S. australe'' ) * ''Planchonella costata'' (as ''S. costatum'' ) * ''Planchonella eerwah'' (as ''S. eerwah'' ) * ''Planchonella macrantha'' (as ''S. macranthum'' ) * ''Pouteria elegans'' (as ''S. elegans'' ) * ''Pouteria reticulata'' (as ''S. uniloculare'' ) * ''Pouteria sapota'' (as ''S. sapota'' ) * ''Synsepalum dulcificum'' (as ''S. dulcificum'' )

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1067086 Sideroxylon, Sapotaceae genera Taxa described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus