''Pisonia'' is a genus 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 four o'clock flower family,

Nyctaginaceae Nyctaginaceae, the four o'clock family, is a family of around 33 genera and 290 species of flowering plants, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few representatives in temperate regions. The family has a unique fruit t ...

. It was named for

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

physician and naturalist

Willem Piso Willem Piso (in Dutch Willem Pies, in Latin Gulielmus Piso, also called Guilherme Piso in Portuguese) (1611 in Leiden – 28 November 1678 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch physician and naturalist who participated as an expedition doctor in D ...

(1611–1678). Certain species in this genus are known as catchbirdtrees, birdcatcher trees or birdlime trees because they catch birds. The sticky seeds are postulated to be an adaptation of some island species that ensures the dispersal of seeds between islands by attaching them to birds, and also allows the enriching of

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secre ...

line sands. (Should a fledgling fall to the ground, become entangled in the ''Pisonia'' sticky seeds, and be unable to free itself, then it will starve, and so enrich the soil within the tree's rootzone.) These island species include '' P. brunoniana'' of

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecolo ...

and

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

and '' P. umbellifera'', which is widespread in the tropical

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 ...

region.

Species

*'' Pisonia aculeata'' L. – pullback (

pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and '' Bacopa''. '' Neotropical'' is a zoogeographic t ...

) *'' Pisonia alba'' Span. *'' Pisonia albida'' (Heimerl) Britton ex Standl. – corcho bobo *'' Pisonia brunoniana'' Endl. – Australasian catchbirdtree (

and

) *'' Pisonia capitata'' (

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 ...

) Standl. – Mexican devil's-claws *'' Pisonia donnellsmithii'' Heimerl ex Standl. (

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

, Guatemala) *'' Pisonia ekmani'' Heimerl (Cuba) *''

Pisonia excelsa ''Pisonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the four o'clock flower family, Nyctaginaceae. It was named for Dutch physician and naturalist Willem Piso (1611–1678). Certain species in this genus are known as catchbirdtrees, birdcatcher trees ...

'' Blume *''

Pisonia floribunda ''Pisonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the four o'clock flower family, Nyctaginaceae. It was named for Dutch physician and naturalist Willem Piso (1611–1678). Certain species in this genus are known as catchbirdtrees, birdcatcher trees ...

'' Hook. f. pega pega (

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands ( es, Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the Equator west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with ...

) *''

Pisonia floridana ''Pisonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the four o'clock flower family, Nyctaginaceae. It was named for Dutch physician and naturalist Willem Piso (1611–1678). Certain species in this genus are known as catchbirdtrees, birdcatcher trees ...

'' Britt. ex

Small Small may refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back * ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...

– Rock Key devil's-claws *''

Pisonia graciliscens ''Ceodes gracilescens'' is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It is a tree endemic to the island of Tahiti in the Society Islands of French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , son ...

'' (Heimerl) Stenmerik (

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of French ...

) *''

Pisonia grandis ''Pisonia grandis'', the grand devil's-claws, is a species of flowering tree in the ''Bougainvillea'' family, Nyctaginaceae. Description The tree has broad, thin leaves, smooth bark and bears clusters of green sweet-smelling flowers that matu ...

'' R.Br. – grand devil's-claws (

) *''

Pisonia horneae ''Pisonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the four o'clock flower family, Nyctaginaceae. It was named for Dutch physician and naturalist Willem Piso (1611–1678). Certain species in this genus are known as catchbirdtrees, birdcatcher tre ...

'' (named after Frances W. Horne, 1873–1967) (Puerto Rico, Northern Karst and the Sierra de Cayey) *'' Pisonia notundata'' Griseb. – smooth devil's-claws *''

Pisonia roqueae ''Pisonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the four o'clock flower family, Nyctaginaceae. It was named for Dutch physician and naturalist Willem Piso (1611–1678). Certain species in this genus are known as catchbirdtrees, birdcatcher tree ...

'' (named after

Ana Roqué de Duprey Ana Roqué de Duprey, also known as "Flor del Valle" (Flower of the Valley) for her work in botany, (April 18, 1853 – 1933), was an educator, suffragist and one of the founders of the University of Puerto Rico. Early years Roqué (birth name ...

, 1853–1933) (Puerto Rico, Central Mountain Range and the Luquillo Mountains) *''

Pisonia sechellarum ''Pisonia sechellarum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Nyctaginaceae. It is indigenous to the Seychelles and the Comoros archipelago. In Seychelles, it is limited to Silhouette Island Silhouette Island lies northwest of Mah ...

'' F.Friedmann (

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

) *''

Pisonia siphonocarpa ''Pisonia siphonocarpa'' is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It is Endemism, endemic to French Polynesia. References

Endemic flora of the Society Islands Pisonia, siphonocarpa Data deficient plants Taxonomy articles create ...

'' (Heimerl) Stenmerik (French Polynesia) *'' Pisonia subcordata'' Sw. – water mampoo *''

Pisonia umbellifera ''Ceodes umbellifera'', synonym ''Pisonia umbellifera'', commonly known as the birdlime tree or bird catcher tree, is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. The evergreen shrub has soft wood, small pink or yellow flowers, and produces ca ...

'' ( J.R.Forst. &

G.Forst. Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold F ...

) Seem. – umbrella catchbirdtree (Indo-Pacific) *''

Pisonia wagneriana ''Pisonia wagneriana'', the ''pāpala kēpau'' or Kauai catchbirdtree, is a species of flowering tree in the '' Bougainvillea'' family, Nyctaginaceae, that is endemic to Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. It is threatened by habitat loss. Ref ...

'' Fosberg – Kauai catchbirdtree, ''pāpala kēpau'' (island of Kauai in

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 ...

) *''

Pisonia zapallo ''Pisonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the four o'clock flower family, Nyctaginaceae. It was named for Dutch physician and naturalist Willem Piso (1611–1678). Certain species in this genus are known as catchbirdtrees, birdcatcher tree ...

'' Griseb.

Formerly placed here

* '' Guapira discolor'' (Spreng.) Little (as ''P. discolor'' Spreng.) * '' Rockia sandwicensis'' Heimerl (as ''P. sandwicensis'' )

Gallery

File:Pisonia alba (Lettuce tree) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 0470.jpg, '' Pisonia alba'' in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, India File:Pisonia alba (Lettuce tree) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 0469.jpg, ''Pisonia alba'' in Hyderabad

References

{{Caryophyllales-stub