Ormosia

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This article is about the legume genus. For the crane fly genus, see Ormosia (fly).

Ormosia
Seeds of Ormosia minor
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Ormosieae
Genus: Ormosia
Jacks. nom. cons.
Species

See text

Synonyms[1]
  • Arillaria Kurz (1873)
  • Chaenolobium Miq. (1861)
  • Fedorouia (lapsus)
  • Fedorovia Yakovlev (1971)
  • Layia Hook. & Arn. (1833), nom. illeg. (non Hook. & Arn. ex DC.: nom. rej.)
  • Macrotropis DC. (1825)
  • Macroule Pierce (1942)
  • Ormosiopsis Ducke (1925)
  • Placolobium Miq. (1858)
  • Podopetalum F.Muell. (1882), nom. illeg.
  • Ruddia Yakovlev (1971)
  • Toulichiba Adans. (1971)
  • Trichocyamos Yakovlev (1972)

Ormosia is a genus of legumes (family Fabaceae). 131 living species, mostly trees or large shrubs, are native to the tropical Americas, from southwestern Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil, to southern, southeastern, and eastern Asia, and to New Guinea and Queensland. Most are tropical, while some extend into temperate temperate regions of China.[1] A few species are threatened by habitat destruction, while the Hainan ormosia (Ormosia howii) is probably extinct already.

Plants in this genus are commonly known as horse-eye beans or simply ormosias, and in Spanish by the somewhat ambiguous term "chocho". The scientific name Ormosia is a nomen conservandum, overruling Toulichiba which is formally rejected under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.[2]

The seeds of these plants are poisonous if eaten, but often look pretty, with bright colors and decorative patterns reminiscent of an eye; the common name "horse-eye beans" refers to these seeds. They resemble the seeds of Abrus, snoutbeans (Rhynchosia), and Adenanthera, but are much larger than the former two. In particular those of Ormosia coccinea are often used for jewelry and other decorative purposes, or as good luck charms.[citation needed] The seeds float and are occasionally found as "sea beans".

Otherwise, Ormosia wood is used as timber or firewood. Some species, for example Ormosia nobilis, are also used in folk medicine.[3]

Fossil record[edit]

8 dehiscent seed pod fossils of one Ormosia species from the middle Eocene epoch have been examined from Warman clay pit in Weakley County, while 52 fossil leaflets of two Ormosia species have been described from Warman, New Lawrence and Lamkin clay pits in Weakley and Henry Counties, Tennessee, United States.[4]

Species[edit]

The following list includes all 131 species in this genus that are accepted by Plants of the World Online as of 22 September 2023 [1]

Species names with uncertain taxonomic status[edit]

The status of the following species is unresolved:

  • Placolobium ellipticum N.D. Khoi & Yakovlev[5]
  • Placolobium vietnamense N.D. Khoi & Yakovlev[6]

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ormosia (Fabaceae).
  1. ^ a b c "Ormosia Jacks". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  2. ^ USDA; ARS; National Genetic Resources Program (5 Oct 2007). "GRIN record for genus Ormosia". Germplasm Resources Information Network—(GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 24 Dec 2008.
  3. ^ Marín-Corba C, Cárdenas-López D, Suárez-Suárez S (2005). "Utilidad del valor de uso en etnobotánica. Estudio en el departamento de Putumayo (Colombia)" [Use Value usefulness in ethnobotany. Case study in Putumayo department (Colombia)] (PDF). Caldasia. 27 (1): 89–101.
  4. ^ The Fossil History of Leguminosae from the Eocene of Southeastern North America by Patrick S. Herendeen, Advances in Legume Systematics: Part 4, The Fossil Record, Ed. P.S. Herendeen & Dilcher, 1992, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ISBN 0 947643 40 0
  5. ^ "Placolobium ellipticum N.D.Khôi & Yakovlev". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Placolobium vietnamense N.D.Khôi & Yakovlev". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
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