''Pithecellobium'' 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

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 ...

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. It includes approximately 23 species from the tropical Americas, ranging from Mexico to Peru and northern Brazil, including the Caribbean Islands and Florida. The generic name is derived from the Greek words πίθηκος (''pithêkos''), meaning "ape" or "monkey," and ἐλλόβιον (''ellobion''), meaning "earring," which refers to the coiled shape of the fruit pods. Plants of the genus are known generally as blackbeads.''Pithecellobium''.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Species

23 species are currently accepted: * '' Pithecellobium × bahamense'' Northr. – Bahamas, southern Florida, and northern Cuba * '' Pithecellobium bipinnatum'' L.Rico – Costa Rica * '' Pithecellobium circinale'' (L.) Benth. – Cuba and Hispaniola * '' Pithecellobium cynodonticum'' Barneby & J.W.Grimes – Haiti * '' Pithecellobium diversifolium'' – northeastern Brazil * '' Pithecellobium domingense'' – Dominican Republic * '' Pithecellobium dulce'' ( Roxb.) Benth. – ''guamúchil'', ebony blackbead, monkeypod –

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 ...

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, northern

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 ...

* '' Pithecellobium excelsum'' (Kunth) Mart. – Ecuador and Peru * '' Pithecellobium furcatum'' Benth. – southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Costa Rica * '' Pithecellobium histrix'' (A.Rich.) Benth. – Bahamas, Cuba, and Dominican Republic * '' Pithecellobium hymenaeafolium'' (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Benth. – southern Mexico to Venezuela * '' Pithecellobium johansenii'' Standl. –

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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, ...

* '' Pithecellobium keyense'' Coker – Florida Keys blackbead – southern Florida, Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Cuba, southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize * '' Pithecellobium lanceolatum'' – Mexico through Central America and Colombia to Venezuela * '' Pithecellobium macrandrium'' – southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize * '' Pithecellobium nicoyanum'' – Costa Rica * '' Pithecellobium oblongum'' Benth. – southern Mexico and northern Colombia * '' Pithecellobium peckii'' S.F.Blake – Guatemala and Belize * '' Pithecellobium roseum'' – ''buche colorado'' – Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and northern and west-central Brazil * '' Pithecellobium striolatum'' – Haiti * '' Pithecellobium subglobosum'' – northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela * '' Pithecellobium unguis-cati'' (L.) Benth. – catclaw blackbead – Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela, and southern Florida * '' Pithecellobium velutinum'' – western Mexico (Sinaloa to Michoacán) * '' Pithecellobium winzerlingii'' – southern Mexico, Belize, and Honduras

Formerly placed here

Many species now in the genera '' Albizia'', '' Abarema'', '' Jupunba'', and '' Punjuba'' were formerly classified in ''Pithecellobium''. Other species previously included: * '' Abarema cochliocarpos'' (as ''P. cochliocarpum'') * '' Archidendron bigeminum'' (as ''P. bigeminum'', ''P. gracile'', ''P. nicobaricum'') * '' Chloroleucon foliolosum'' (as ''P. foliolosum'', ''P. grisebachianum'', ''P. myriophyllum'' Malme, ''P. oligandrum'') * '' Pseudalbizzia decandra'' (as ''P. decandrum'') * '' Pseudosamanea cubana'' (as ''P. bacona'') * '' Zygia cognata'' (as ''P. cognatum'', ''P. stevensonii'') * '' Zygia pithecolobioides'' (as ''P. pithecolobioides'', ''P. reductum'')

References

* * Fabaceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Flora of the Neotropical realm Taxa named by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius {{Mimosoideae-stub