''Schinus'' is a genus of flowering

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, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s and tall

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as pepper trees. The Peruvian pepper tree ('' Schinus molle'') is the source of the spice known as pink peppercorn. The species of ''Schinus'' are native to South America, ranging from Peru and northeastern Brazil to southern South America. Some species (e.g. '' Schinus terebinthifolia'') have become an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

outside their natural habitats. '' Schinus polygama'', although less well known, is also potentially weedy in mesic areas.

Etymology

The generic name is derived from the Greek word for '' Pistacia lentiscus'', Σχίνος (''schinos''), which it resembles. There has been considerable historical confusion as to the correct

grammatical gender In linguistics, a grammatical gender system is a specific form of a noun class system, where nouns are assigned to gender categories that are often not related to the real-world qualities of the entities denoted by those nouns. In languages wit ...

of the genus name; this was resolved in 2015 with the determination that the correct gender of ''Schinus'' is feminine, not masculine, and adjectival names within the genus must be spelled accordingly. E.g. '' Schinus polygamus'' is found in the literature, but '' Schinus polygama'' is deemed to be the correct form. This is because botanical tradition uses feminine gender for the

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 ...

name ''Schinus'', as is the classical tradition for most genus names of trees that end in -''us'', and ''polygama'' is an

adjective An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...

that must take a feminine form (not the masculine form ''polygamus'').

Species

34 species are currently accepted: *'' Schinus areira'' –

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

*'' Schinus bumelioides'' – northern Argentina *'' Schinus engleri'' F.A.Barkley –

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

*'' Schinus fasciculata'' (Griseb.) I.M.Johnst. – Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina *'' Schinus ferox'' – southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina (Misiones Province) *'' Schinus gracilipes'' – northwestern Argentina *'' Schinus johnstonii'' – Argentina and Uruguay *'' Schinus kauselii'' – central Chile *'' Schinus latifolia'' (Gillies ex Lindl.) Engl. – central Chile *'' Schinus lentiscifolia'' – southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina (Misiones Province) *'' Schinus longifolia'' – west-central and southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, nand northern Argentina *'' Schinus marchandii'' – southern Chile and southern Argentina *'' Schinus meyeri'' – Bolivia and northwestern Argentina (Salta Province) *'' Schinus microphylla'' – Peru and Bolivia *'' Schinus molle'' L. Peruvian pepper tree **''Schinus molle'' var. ''molle'' (=''S. bituminosa, S. occidentalis'') – Peru and northern Chile; southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina **''Schinus molle'' var. ''rusbyi'' (L.) DC. – southern Peru and northern Chile *'' Schinus montana'' – central Chile *'' Schinus myrtifolia'' – Bolivia and northwestern Argentina *'' Schinus odonellii'' – southern Chile and western Argentina *'' Schinus pampeana'' – southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) *'' Schinus patagonica'' – central and southern Chile and western Argentina *'' Schinus pearcei'' Engler –

, northern

, and

*'' Schinus pilifera'' – Bolivia and northern Argentina *'' Schinus polygama'' (Cav.) Cabrera (=''S. dentata'', ''S. dependens'') – Chile and northwestern Argentina (Mendoza) *'' Schinus praecox'' – north-central Argentina *'' Schinus ramboi'' – southern and southeastern Brazil *'' Schinus roigii'' – western Argentina *'' Schinus sinuata'' – northeastern Argentina *'' Schinus spinosa'' – Brazil (Paraná state) *'' Schinus talampaya'' – northwestern Argentina (San Juan and La Rioja) *'' Schinus terebinthifolia'' Raddi Brazilian pepper tree – northeastern to southeastern Brazil, northeastern Argentina, and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

**''Schinus terebinthifolia'' var. ''acutifolia'' Engl. **''Schinus terebinthifolia'' var. ''terebinthifolia'' (=''S. aroiera, S. chichita, S. mellisii, S, mucronulata, S. rhoifolia'') *'' Schinus uruguayensis'' – southern Brazil, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina *'' Schinus velutina'' – central Chile *'' Schinus venturii'' F.A.Barkley – southern Bolivia to northwestern Argentina (Salta) *'' Schinus weinmanniifolia'' Mart. ex Engl. – south-central to eastern and southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina

Formerly placed here

*'' Cuscuta myricoides'' (L.) Druce (as ''S. myricoides'' L.) *'' Limonia acidissima'' L. (as ''S. limonia'' L.) *'' Lithraea molleoides'' (Vell.) Engl. (as ''S. molleoides'' Vell.) *'' Zanthoxylum fagara'' (L.) Sarg. (as ''S. fagara'' L.)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Anacardiaceae genera Flora of Southern America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus