Dalechampia 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 plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

 of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae, the Spurge family are a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500 species. Most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti....

 and of the monogeneric subtribe Dalechampiinae. It comprises about 120 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...

, all found in lowland tropical areas (below 2,000 m ASL

Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

) and especially in 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...

. There are ca. 90 species in the Americas and ca. 10 species each, in Africa, Madagascar, and Asia. Additional new species are still being described and several are very rare and at risk of extinction.

Dalechampia has unisexual flowers that are secondarily united into bisexual blossoms (pseudanthia), which acts as the pollination units. The pollination and floral evolution of this genus have been studied more intensively than perhaps any other member of the euphorbia family. In the neotropics (Americas), most species are pollinated by resin

Resin

Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...

-collecting female bees, including euglossine bees and Hypanthidium of the Megachilidae

Megachilidae

The Megachilidae are a cosmopolitan family of solitary bees whose pollen-carrying structure is restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen...

, which use resin in nest construction. About a dozen neotropical species are pollinated by fragrance-collecting male euglossine bees, which use these fragrances to attract females for mating. There are at least three independent pollination shifts from pollination by female resin-collecting bees to pollination by male fragrance-collecting bees. African and Asian species are also pollinated by resin-collecting megachilid bees, but Malagasy species are pollinated by pollen-feeding beetle

Beetle

Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

s and pollen-collecting bees.

Two species are of horticultural interest, having particularly showy blossoms with bright pink/purple bracts. One of these, D. aristolochiifolia, from Peru, has become very popular recently, but it is mistakenly advertised and distributed under the name D. dioscoreifolia

Dalechampia dioscoreifolia

Dalechampia dioscoreifolia is species of euphorb....

.

Selected species

• Dalechampia aristolochiifolia – Costa Rican Butterfly Vine, Purple Wings
• Dalechampia dioscoreifolia
  Dalechampia dioscoreifolia
  Dalechampia dioscoreifolia is species of euphorb....
  
  
• Dalechampia roezliana
• Dalechampia scandens