Conocarpus

Conocarpus
Conocarpus
Conocarpus erectus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Myrtales
Family: Combretaceae
Genus: Conocarpus
L.[1]
Species

See text

Synonyms

Rudbeckia Adans.[1]

Conocarpus is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Combretaceae, native to tropical regions of the world. One of the species is a widespread mangrove species, the other is restricted to a small area around the southern Red Sea coasts, where it grows alongside seasonal rivers.

They are dense multiple-trunked shrubs or small to medium-sized trees from 1-20 m tall.

The generic name is derived from the Greek words κονος (konos), meaning "cone," and καρπος (karpos), meaning "fruit."[2]

Contents

Distribution

Bottonwood tree at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas

Conocarpus species are native to the silt shores of coasts and islands of Florida, including the Florida keys. They are also widely distributed on coasts of tropical America from Bermuda and the Bahamas through West Indies including Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands; from Mexico south on the Atlantic coast to Brazil and on the Pacific Coast to Ecuador including the Galapagos Islands, and Peru; and on coasts of west Africa and in Melanesia and Polynesia.

Species

Formerly placed here

  • Anogeissus acuminata (Roxb. ex DC.) Wall. ex Guill. & Perr. (as C. acuminatus Roxb. ex DC.)
  • Anogeissus latifolia (Roxb. ex DC.) Wall. ex Guill. & Perr. (as C. latifolius Roxb. ex DC.)
  • Anogeissus leiocarpa (DC.) Guill. & Perr. (as C. leiocarpus DC.)
  • Laguncularia racemosa (L.) C.F.Gaertn. (as C. racemosus L.)[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Genus: Conocarpus L.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 1996-09-17. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?2883. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  2. ^ Austin, Daniel F. (2004). Florida Ethnobotany. CRC Press. pp. 372. ISBN 9780849323324. http://books.google.com/books?id=eS7lX_rC3GEC&. 
  3. ^ "Conocarpus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=27765. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  4. ^ a b "GRIN Species Records of Conocarpus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?2883. Retrieved 2010-11-27.