Malpighia
Encyclopedia
Malpighia is a genus of flowering plant
s in the nance family, Malpighiaceae
. It contains about 45 species of shrub
s or small tree
s, all of which are native to the American
tropics
. The generic name honours Marcello Malpighi
, a 17th century Italian physician and botanist. The species grow to 1–6 m (3.3–19.7 ft) tall, with a dense, often thorny
crown. The leaves
are evergreen
, simple, 0.5–15 cm (0.196850393700787–5.9 in) long, with an entire or serrated margin. The flower
s are solitary or in umbel
s of two to several together, each flower 1–2 cm (0.393700787401575–0.78740157480315 in) diameter, with five white, pink, red, or purple petal
s. The fruit
is a red, orange or purple drupe
, containing 2-3 hard seed
s. M. emarginata is cultivated for its sweet and juicy
fruits, which are very rich in vitamin C
.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the nance family, Malpighiaceae
Malpighiaceae
Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises approximately 75 genera and 1300 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics...
. It contains about 45 species of shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s or small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, all of which are native to the American
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
tropics
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
. The generic name honours Marcello Malpighi
Marcello Malpighi
Marcello Malpighi was an Italian doctor, who gave his name to several physiological features, like the Malpighian tubule system.-Early years:...
, a 17th century Italian physician and botanist. The species grow to 1–6 m (3.3–19.7 ft) tall, with a dense, often thorny
Thorns, spines, and prickles
In botanical morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles are hard structures with sharp, or at least pointed, ends. In spite of this common feature, they differ in their growth and development on the plant; they are modified versions of different plant organs, stems, stipules, leaf veins, or hairs...
crown. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
, simple, 0.5–15 cm (0.196850393700787–5.9 in) long, with an entire or serrated margin. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are solitary or in umbel
Umbel
An umbel is an inflorescence which consists of a number of short flower stalks which are equal in length and spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs....
s of two to several together, each flower 1–2 cm (0.393700787401575–0.78740157480315 in) diameter, with five white, pink, red, or purple petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a red, orange or purple drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
, containing 2-3 hard seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s. M. emarginata is cultivated for its sweet and juicy
Juice
Juice is the liquid that is naturally contained in fruit or vegetable tissue.Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fruit or vegetable flesh without the application of heat or solvents. For example, orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree...
fruits, which are very rich in vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
.
Selected species
- Malpighia aquifolia L.
- Malpighia caulifloraMalpighia caulifloraMalpighia cauliflora is a species of flowering plant in the nance family, Malpighiaceae, that is endemic to Jamaica. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
Proctor & Vivaldi (JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
) - Malpighia coccigeraMalpighia coccigeraMalpighia coccigera is a species of flowering plant in the nance family, Malpighiaceae, that is native to the Caribbean. It is commonly known as Dwarf Holly due to the shape of its leaves, but is not a true holly . Its white flowers are followed by red berries, which are technically drupes...
L. – Singapore Holly (the CaribbeanCaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
) - Malpighia cubensis KunthCarl Sigismund KunthCarl Sigismund Kunth , also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist...
– Palo Bronco de Hoja Pequeña (CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
) - Malpighia emarginata DC. – Barbados Cherry, Acerola (southern TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Central AmericaCentral AmericaCentral America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, the Caribbean, northern South AmericaSouth AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
) - Malpighia fucata Ker Gawl.John Bellenden Ker GawlerJohn Bellenden Ker, originally John Gawler was an English botanist born about 1764 in Ramridge, Andover, Hampshire and died in June 1842 in the same town. On 5 November 1804 he changed his name to Ker Bellenden, but continued to sign his name as Bellenden Ker until his death...
(Puerto Rico) - Malpighia harrisiiMalpighia harrisiiMalpighia harrisii is a species of flowering plant in the nance family, Malpighiaceae, that is endemic to Jamaica.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
SmallJohn Kunkel SmallJohn Kunkel Small was an American botanist.He was the first Curator of Museums at The New York Botanical Garden, a post in which he served from 1898 until 1906. From 1906 to 1934 he was Head Curator and then from 1934 until his death he was Chief Research Associate and Curator...
(Jamaica) - Malpighia mexicana A.Juss.Adrien-Henri de JussieuAdrien-Henri de Jussieu was a French botanist.Born in Paris as the son of botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1824 with a treatise of the plant family Euphorbiaceae. When his father retired in 1826, he succeeded him at the Jardin des Plantes; in...
- Malpighia obtusifoliaMalpighia obtusifoliaMalpighia obtusifolia is a species of plant in the Malpighiaceae family. It is endemic to Jamaica.-Sources:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
Proctor (Jamaica) - Malpighia polytricha A.Juss.
- Malpighia proctoriiMalpighia proctoriiMalpighia proctorii is a species of plant in the Malpighiaceae family. It is endemic to Jamaica. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Sources:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
Vivaldi (Jamaica) - Malpighia setosa Spreng. – Bristly Stingingbush (The BahamasThe BahamasThe Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico) - Malpighia suberosa SmallJohn Kunkel SmallJohn Kunkel Small was an American botanist.He was the first Curator of Museums at The New York Botanical Garden, a post in which he served from 1898 until 1906. From 1906 to 1934 he was Head Curator and then from 1934 until his death he was Chief Research Associate and Curator...
- Malpighia urens L. – Cowhage (the Caribbean)
Formerly placed here
- Bunchosia argentea (Jacq.) DC. (as M. argentea Jacq.)
- Bunchosia armeniaca (Cav.) DC. (as M. armeniaca Cav.
- Bunchosia glandulifera (Jacq.) Kunth (as M. glandulifera Jacq.)
- Bunchosia glandulosa (Cav.) DC. (as M. glandulosa Cav.)
- Byrsonima altissima (Aubl.) DC. (as M. altissima Aubl.)
- Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) Kunth (as M. crassifolia L.)
- Byrsonima densa (Poir.) DC. (as M. densa Poir.)
- Byrsonima spicata (Cav.) DC. (as M. spicata Cav.)
- Heteropterys multiflora (DC.) Hochr. (as M. reticulata Poir.)