Bixa
| Bixa | ||||||||||||
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Annatto shrub ( Bixa orellana ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Bixa | ||||||||||||
| L. |
Bixa is a genus in the family of the Annatto plants (Bixaceae) within the order of the mallow-like (Malvales). The five or so species are common in the Neotropics . The best known type is the Annatto shrub (also called tree Orleans, annatto, achiote) ( Bixa orellana ), a spice and Dye plant .
Description and ecology
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Vegetative characteristics
Bixa species are woody plants and grow as small trees or shrubs . They contain yellow or reddish milky sap . The bark of young twigs, the leaves and the fruits are covered with brown, shield-like hair ( indument ).
The alternate leaves arranged on the branches are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The leaf stalks are relatively long. The leaf blades are simple and have entire margins. There is pinnate veins. There are relatively small stipules .
Generative characteristics
The terminal inflorescences are thyrsenic . On the pedicels there are five clearly visible glands below the sepals .
The large and decorative flowers are hermaphroditic, five-fold and radial symmetry . The five sepals and five petals are free and arranged like roof tiles. They are alternately offset from one another, the sepals fall off after flowering, the petals are white or pink. The numerous free stamens stand together in bundles. The two counters of the anthers are horseshoe-shaped and open at the top along short slits. From two to four carpels of the Upper constant arises ovary with only one compartment. The placentation is parietal, there are numerous ovules . The pollination is done by bees .
The short-stalked capsule fruit is occasionally covered with thorns. The numerous seeds are obovate and encased in a sarcotesta , which turns into a pulp when damp.
The basic chromosome number is x = 7.
Systematics and distribution
The genus Bixa was established in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum , Tomus I, page 512. Synonyms for Bixa L. are: Orleania C.Commelijn ex Boehm. , Urucu Adans. , Orellana Kuntze .
Bixa was the only genus in the Bixaceae family.
The genus Bixa is neotropical . Due to its economic importance, the annatto shrub is now cultivated in the tropics around the world, and in some cases it is also naturalized. The Bixa species thrive mainly in the Amazon basin.
The genus Bixa contains five species:
- Bixa arborea Huber : It is common in tropical South America.
- Bixa excelsa Gleason & Krukoff : It is distributed from northern Brazil to Peru .
- Annatto shrub , even Orleans Tree (annatto, achiote) called ( Bixa orellana L. , syn .: Bixa acuminata Bojer nom. Inval., Bixa americana Poir. , Bixa katangensis Delpierre , Bixa odorata Ruiz & Pav. Ex G.Don , Bixa Orleana Noronha orth. Var., Bixa orellana var. Leiocarpa (Kuntze) Standl. & LOWilliams , Bixa purpurea Sweet , Bixa tinctaria Salisb. Nom. Superfl., Bixa upatensis Ram.Goyena ): It is widespread from Mexico to tropical South America and in other areas of the tropics a neophyte .
- Bixa platycarpa Ruiz & Pav. Ex G.Don (Syn .: Bixa orellana var. Platycarpa (Ruiz & Pav. Ex G.Don) Warb. ): It is widespread in tropical South America.
- Bixa urucurana Willd. (Syn .: Bixa orellana var. Urucurana (Willd.) Kuntze ex Pilg. , Bixa sphaerocarpa Triana ): It iswidespreadin Central and South America, from Nicaragua to Panama and Venezuela to Brazil.
proof
literature
- HH Poppendieck: Bixaceae. In: Klaus Kubitzki (Ed.): The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants - Volume IV - Flowering Plants - Dicotyledons - Celastrales, Oxalidales, Rosales, Cornales, Ericales. 2003, pp. 33-35.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c The genus Bixa as an independent family Bixaceae at DELTA.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Bixa. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved April 18, 2020.
