Citharexylum
Encyclopedia
Citharexylum is a genus of flowering plant
s in the verbena
family, Verbenaceae
. It contains 70 to 100 shrub
and tree
species commonly known as Fiddlewoods or Zitherwoods. They are native to the Americas
, ranging from southern Florida
and Texas
in the United States
to Argentina
. The highest diversity occurs in Mexico
and the Andes
. The generic name is derived from the Greek
words κιθάρα (kithara), meaning "lyre
", and ξύλον (xylon), meaning "wood," referring to the use
of the wood in the sounding board
s of string instrument
s. Several species, especially C. caudatum and C. spinosum
, are cultivated as ornamentals
.
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 verbena
Verbena
Verbena , verbenas or vervains, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 250 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the New World from Canada south to southern Chile, but some are also native in the Old...
family, Verbenaceae
Verbenaceae
Verbenaceae, commonly known as the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell.Recent phylogenetic studies have shown that...
. It contains 70 to 100 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...
and 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...
species commonly known as Fiddlewoods or Zitherwoods. They are native to the Americas
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...
, ranging from southern Florida
Florida
Florida 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...
and Texas
Texas
Texas 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...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The highest diversity occurs in Mexico
Mexico
The 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...
and the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
. The generic name is derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words κιθάρα (kithara), meaning "lyre
Lyre
The lyre is a stringed musical instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later. The word comes from the Greek "λύρα" and the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists", written in Linear B syllabic script...
", and ξύλον (xylon), meaning "wood," referring to the use
Tonewood
Tonewood generally refers to any wood which may be used in the construction of a musical instrument. Many acoustic properties are often assigned to specific wood species; however the description of these properties is itself a large subject and beyond the scope of this article...
of the wood in the sounding board
Sounding board
A sound board, or soundboard, is the surface of a string instrument that the strings vibrate against, usually via some sort of bridge. The resonant properties of the sound board and the interior of the instrument greatly increase loudness over the string alone.The sound board operates by the...
s of string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s. Several species, especially C. caudatum and C. spinosum
Citharexylum spinosum
Citharexylum spinosum is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to southern Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Common names include Florida Fiddlewood and Spiny Fiddlewood. It is a tree that reaches a height of up...
, are cultivated as ornamentals
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
.
Selected species
- Citharexylum berlandieriCitharexylum berlandieriCitharexylum berlandieri is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States and Mexico as far south as Oaxaca. Common names include Tamaulipan Fiddlewood, Berlandier Fiddlewood, Negrito Fiddlewood,...
B.L.Rob.Benjamin Lincoln RobinsonBenjamin Lincoln Robinson was an American botanist.-External links:*...
– Berlandier's Fiddlewood, Tamaulipan Fiddlewood - Citharexylum brachyanthum (A.GrayAsa Gray-References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....
) A.Gray – Boxthorn Fiddlewood, Mexican Fiddlewood - Citharexylum caudatum L. – Juniper Berry
- Citharexylum gentryi MoldenkeHarold Norman MoldenkeHarold Norman Moldenke, also known as simply Moldenke was an American botanist/taxonomist. His expertise is largely in the study of Verbenaceae, Avicenniaceae, Stilbaceae, Dicrastylidaceae, Symphoremaceae, Nyctanthaceae and Eriocaulaceae....
- Citharexylum montevidense Moldenke
- Citharexylum myrianthum Cham.Adelbert von ChamissoAdelbert von Chamisso was a German poet and botanist.- Life :He was born Louis Charles Adélaïde de Chamissot at the château of Boncourt at Ante, in Champagne, France, the ancestral seat of his family...
- Citharexylum poeppigii Walp.Wilhelm Gerhard WalpersWilhelm Gerhard Walpers was a German botanist. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Walp. when citing a botanical name.-Works:*Repertorium botanices systematicæ...
- Citharexylum spinosumCitharexylum spinosumCitharexylum spinosum is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to southern Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Common names include Florida Fiddlewood and Spiny Fiddlewood. It is a tree that reaches a height of up...
L. – Spiny Fiddlewood - Citharexylum tristachyum Turcz.Nicolai Stepanovitch TurczaninowPorphir Kiril Nicolai Stepanowitsch Turczaninow was a Ukrainian-Russian botanist who first identified several genera, and many species of plants...
– Threespike Fiddlewood
Formerly placed here
- Rhaphithamnus spinosus (Juss.) Moldenke (as. C. cyanocarpum Hook. & Arn.)