Calpurnia is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of flowering plant

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 within the family Fabaceae

Fabaceae

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...

.

The genus comprises 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 trees in or along the margin of forests in the eastern parts of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. They shed leaves in winter unless in moist areas, where they 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...

. They make good garden plants because they are easily raised from seed, flower at two years and withstand frost

Frost

Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...

.

The species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 Calpurnia aurea is also known as Wild Laburnum / Wildegeelkeur. The bright yellow flowers have the typical form of the Fabaceae (pea

Pea

A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...

 family). They are borne in raceme

Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...

s and flowering can take place over several months. The flowers are visited by carpenter bee

Carpenter bee

Carpenter bees are large, hairy bees distributed worldwide. There are some 500 species of carpenter bee in 31 subgenera...

s, after which the pollintated flowers turn into thin, straw-colored pods.

Species include:

• Calpurnia aurea
  Calpurnia aurea
  Calpurnia aurea is a Southern African tree belonging to the family Fabaceae, occurring along the coastal regions from the south-eastern Cape northwards and inland to the central Transvaal, with an isolated population in eastern Zimbabwe. Mostly found as a small tree up to 4 m, but under forest...
  
  
  • Calpurnia aurea aurea
  • Calpurnia aurea sylvatica
• Calpurnia capensis
• Calpurnia glabrata
• Calpurnia intrusa
• Calpurnia robinioides
• Calpurnia sericea
• Calpurnia villosa
• Calpurnia woodii