Colubrina
Encyclopedia
Colubrina is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plant
s in the buckthorn
family, Rhamnaceae
, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa
, the Americas
, southern Asia
, northern Australia
, and the Indian Ocean
islands. Common names include nakedwood, snakewood, greenheart and hogplum. The generic name is derived from the Latin
word coluber, meaning "snake", and refers to the snake-like stems or stamens.
The species are shrub
s and small tree
s growing 1–10 m (3.3–32.8 ft) tall, with simple ovate leaves
. The flower
s are small, greenish-white or yellowish; the fruit
is a capsule
containing three seed
s.
The genus is at least in part a wastebasket taxon, and revision will likely result in the renaming of a number of species to different genera.
Colubrina asiatica
, native to tropical Asia, eastern Africa and northern Australia, has become an invasive species
in Florida
.
e of some Lepidoptera
species including Bucculatrix kendalli which feeds exclusively on C. texensis.
, the leaves and/or fruit and in some cases the bark of some species are used to produce a soft drink
called mauby
.
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 buckthorn
Buckthorn
The Buckthorns are a genus of about 100 species of shrubs or small trees from 1-10 m tall , in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae...
family, Rhamnaceae
Rhamnaceae
Rhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs and some vines.The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species. The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions...
, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, 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...
, southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
islands. Common names include nakedwood, snakewood, greenheart and hogplum. The generic name is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word coluber, meaning "snake", and refers to the snake-like stems or stamens.
The species are 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 and 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 growing 1–10 m (3.3–32.8 ft) tall, with simple ovate 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....
. 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 small, greenish-white or yellowish; 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 capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
containing three 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.
The genus is at least in part a wastebasket taxon, and revision will likely result in the renaming of a number of species to different genera.
Colubrina asiatica
Colubrina asiatica
Colubrina asiatica is a shrub in the family Rhamnaceae that is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World, from eastern Africa to India, southeast Asia, tropical Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Common names include latherleaf, Asian nakedwood and Asian snakewood.-Description:C...
, native to tropical Asia, eastern Africa and northern Australia, has become an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
in 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...
.
Selected species
- Colubrina arborescens (Mill.Philip MillerPhilip Miller FRS was a Scottish botanist.Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1722 until he was pressured to retire shortly before his death...
) Sarg.Charles Sprague SargentCharles Sprague Sargent was an American botanist. He was the first director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts and the standard botanical author abbreviation Sarg. is applied to plants he described.-Biography:Sargent was the second son of Henrietta and...
– Greenheart (southern 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...
, southern 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...
, 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...
, 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...
) - Colubrina articulata (CapuronRené Paul Raymond CapuronRené Paul Raymond Capuron was a French botanist. Capuron was responsible for an extensive amount of work on the tree flora of Madagascar.- Works :Highlights of his work include:* M...
) Figueiredo - Colubrina asiaticaColubrina asiaticaColubrina asiatica is a shrub in the family Rhamnaceae that is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World, from eastern Africa to India, southeast Asia, tropical Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Common names include latherleaf, Asian nakedwood and Asian snakewood.-Description:C...
(L.) Brongn. – Asian Nakedwood, Ānapanapa kukuku (HawaiianHawaiian languageThe Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
) (Indo-PacificIndo-PacificThe Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
) - Colubrina californicaColubrina californicaColubrina californica is a species of shrub in the buckthorn family known by the common name Las Animas Nakedwood. It is native to the Sonoran Desert of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in desert scrub habitat. The thorny shrub has deciduous leaves, oval in shape...
I.M.Johnst.Ivan Murray JohnstonI. M. Johnston , was a United States botanist. He studied at Pomona College in Claremont, California and at Harvard University...
– Las Animas Nakedwood - Colubrina cubensis (Jacq.Nikolaus Joseph von JacquinNikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin or Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin. was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany....
) Brongn. – Cuban Nakedwood (southern Florida, 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...
, Cayman IslandsCayman IslandsThe Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
, 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...
) - Colubrina decipiens (Baill.) Capuron
- Colubrina ellipticaColubrina ellipticaColubrina elliptica, Mabi or Soldierwood, is a species of flowering tree in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, that is native to the Florida Keys, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and Venezuela.-Uses:...
(Sw.Olof SwartzOlof Peter Swartz was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes...
) Brizicky & W.L.Stern – Mabi, Soldierwood (Florida KeysFlorida KeysThe Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Venezuela) - Colubrina ferruginosa Brongn.
- Colubrina glandulosa Perkins – Glandular Nakedwood
- Colubrina greggii S.WatsonSereno WatsonSereno Watson was an American botanist.Graduating from Yale in 1847, he drifted through various occupations until, in California, he joined the Clarence King Expedition and eventually became its expedition botanist...
– Sierra Nakedwood - Colubrina humbertii (H.Perrier) Capuron
- Colubrina nicholsonii Van Wyk & Schrire – Pondo Snakewood
- Colubrina oppositifoliaColubrina oppositifoliaColubrina oppositifolia, known as Kauila in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering tree in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It can be found in dry, coastal mesic, and mixed mesic forests at elevations of on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii . There is also one individual...
Brongn. ex H.MannHorace Mann Jr.-Biography:Horace Mann Jr. was born in Boston on February 25, 1844. He was the son of education reformer Horace Mann. While attending the Lawrence Scientific School he took lessons in zoology with Louis Agassiz and in botany with Asa Gray...
– Kauila (HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
) - Colubrina pedunculataColubrina pedunculataColubrina pedunculata is a shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean. Its specific epithet comes from the Latin pedunculatus, referring to the long and conspicuous peduncle of the...
Baker f. (Christmas IslandChristmas IslandThe Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
) - Colubrina pubescens Kurz
- Colubrina stricta Engelm. ex M.C. Johnst. – Comal Nakedwood
- Colubrina texensis (Torr. & 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 – Snakewood or Texan Hogplum (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...
, northern Mexico) - Colubrina verrucosa (Urb.) M.C.Johnst. – Urban's Nakedwood
Formerly placed here
- Alphitonia excelsaAlphitonia excelsaAlphitonia excelsa, commonly known as the Red Ash or Soap Tree, is a species of tree in the Rhamnaceae family. It is endemic to Australia, being found in New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and the northeastern tip of Western Australia...
(Fenzl) Reissek ex Benth. (as C. excelsa Fenzl)
Ecology
Colubrina species are used as food plants by the larvaLarva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including Bucculatrix kendalli which feeds exclusively on C. texensis.
Uses
In the CaribbeanCaribbean
The 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...
, the leaves and/or fruit and in some cases the bark of some species are used to produce a soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
called mauby
Mauby
Mauby and Dutch Caribbean islands of St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Saba, is a tree bark-based beverage grown, and widely consumed, in the Caribbean...
.