''Melochia'' 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 ...

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 mallow family,

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

. It comprises 54

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), ...

from the

tropical 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

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 ...

regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. It is a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical kingdom. It was first recognized as a distinct region ...

and the

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Some taxonomy books have placed genus ''Melochia'' in the family ''

Sterculiaceae Sterculiaceae was a family of flowering plant based on the genus '' Sterculia''. Genera formerly included in Sterculiaceae are now placed in the family Malvaceae, in the subfamilies: Byttnerioideae, Dombeyoideae, Helicteroideae and Sterculioide ...

,'' but ''Sterculiaceae'' is now generally considered obsolete as a taxonomic class. The name "Melochia" comes from the Arabic name

Mulukhiyah Mulukhiyah (Arabic: ملوخية, romanized: mulūkhiyyah), also known as mulukhiyya , molokhiyya, melokhiyya, or ewédú, is a type of jute plant and a dish made from the leaves of ''Corchorus olitorius'', commonly known in English as jute, J ...

which in Arabic means mallow plants of the genus ''

Corchorus ''Corchorus'' is a genus of about 40–100 species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. Different common names are used in different contexts, with jute applying to the fi ...

'' (including ''

Corchorus olitorius Jute mallow or Jew's mallow or Mallow leaves or Nalita jute (''Corchorus olitorius'', also known as "Jute leaves", "Tossa jute", "Mloukheyeh" and "West African sorrel") is a species of shrub in the family Malvaceae. Together with '' C. caps ...

'') which are cultivated as vegetables in Egypt (and elsewhere). The take-up of this Arabic ''Molokheya'' as a label for the ''Melochia'' mallow plants began with the Latin botanist

Prospero Alpini Prospero Alpini (also known as Prosper Alpinus, Prospero Alpinio and Latinized as Prosperus Alpinus) (23 November 15536 February 1617) was a Venetian physician and botanist. He travelled around Egypt and served as the fourth prefect in charge of ...

(died 1617), who spent several years in Egypt in the 1580s, and Alpini's name was soon adopted by the botanists

Johann Bauhin Johann (or Jean) Bauhin (12 December 1541 – 26 October 1613) was a Swiss botanist, born in Basel. He was the son of physician Jean Bauhin and the brother of physician and botanist Gaspard Bauhin. Biography Bauhin studied botany at the Univ ...

(died 1613), Caspar Bauhin (died 1624), and

Johann Vesling Johann Vesling (; 1598 – 30 August 1649) was a German anatomist and botanist from Minden, Westphalia. He published a major illustrated work on human anatomy ''Syntagma Anatomicum'' (1641). Life and work Vesling was born in Minden, Westphal ...

(visited Egypt 1628; died 1649).L. Marcel Devic (year 1876)
''Dictionnaire étymologique des mots français d'origine orientale''
Helmut Genaust (year 1998),
Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen
'. Prosperi Alpini (year 1592, republished year 1640
''De Plantis Aegypti'' (in Latin)

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus ''Melochia'': *''

Melochia anomala ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *''

Melochia arenosa ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *''

Melochia argentina ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *''

Melochia bernoulliana ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *''

Melochia betonicifolia ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *''

Melochia betsiliensis ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *''

Melochia bissei ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *''

Melochia canescens ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *''

Melochia caracasana ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *''

Melochia chamaedrys ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *'' Melochia colombiana'' *'' Melochia corchorifolia'' *'' Melochia crenata'' *'' Melochia degeneriana'' *'' Melochia gardneri'' *'' Melochia goldbergii'' *'' Melochia graminifolia'' *'' Melochia grayana'' *'' Melochia hassleriana'' *'' Melochia hermannioides'' *'' Melochia illicioides'' *'' Melochia kerriifolia'' *'' Melochia lanata'' *'' Melochia lanceolata'' *'' Melochia leucantha'' *'' Melochia longepetiolata'' *'' Melochia longibracteolata'' *'' Melochia longidentata'' *'' Melochia lupulina'' *'' Melochia manducata'' *'' Melochia melissifolia'' *'' Melochia ministella'' *'' Melochia mollipila'' *'' Melochia mollis'' *'' Melochia morongii'' *'' Melochia nodiflora'' *'' Melochia nudiflora'' *'' Melochia oaxacana'' *'' Melochia odorata'' *'' Melochia parhamii'' *'' Melochia parvifolia'' *'' Melochia peruviana'' *''

Melochia pilosa ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *'' Melochia pterocarpa'' *'' Melochia pulverulenta'' *''

Melochia pyramidata ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *'' Melochia roseiflora'' *'' Melochia savannarum'' *'' Melochia sergipana'' *'' Melochia simplex'' *'' Melochia speciosa'' *'' Melochia splendens'' *'' Melochia taiwaniana'' *'' Melochia thymifolia'' *'' Melochia tomentella'' *''

Melochia tomentosa ''Melochia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and ...

'' *'' Melochia trujilloi'' *'' Melochia ulmifolia'' *''

Melochia umbellata ''Melochia umbellata'' is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. Its specific name (botany), specific epithet comes from the Latin ''umbellatus'' (umbel-like), referring to the inflorescence. Description ''Melochia umbe ...

'' *'' Melochia urticifolia'' *'' Melochia villosa'' *'' Melochia villosissima'' *'' Melochia werdermannii''

Species

Formerly placed here

References

Notes