| + | ''Byrsonima'' comprises over 135 [[species]] of trees, shrubs, and subshrubs found in the New World [[tropics]] and [[subtropics]] from southern [[Mexico]], southeastern [[Florida]], and the [[Caribbean]] to southeastern [[Brazil]]. The plants have entire leaves, yellow flowers, and fleshy, edible fruits called '''[[nance (disambiguation)|nance]]'''; ''B. crassifolia'' in particular is known by that name, as it is an [[underutilized crop]] of some commercial importance in [[Latin America]]. |
| Byrsonima (name refers to use of some species in tanning, in Brazil). Malpighiaceae. Perhaps 100 Trop. American trees and shrubs, frequently climbing, rarely known in cult. Lvs. opposite, thick, simple, entire, the stipules often connate: fls. white, yellow or pink, in terminal simple or branched racemes; sepals and petals 5, the former bearing a pair of glands, the latter clawed and the blades concave; stamens 10, the filaments united at base and bearded: fr. a 3-celled fleshy drupe, with bony seeds, often edible. B. lucida, HBK., occurs in Fla. and W. Indies, a much-branched evergreen shrub, with fls. white turning yellowish or rose; apparently not in the trade. B. crassifolia, HBK. Mex. and S., is offered in S. Callf. Shrub or small tree: Lvs. ovate, tapering each way: fls. yellow in pubescent erect racemes. Said to bear the ''nanche," a popular fruit of the Mexicans. This has a sour fermented taste; it is offered for sale in the markets of the west coast Mexican towns, and is eaten raw with salt, or in soups, or in stuffing for meats. The astringent bark, rich in tannin, is used medicinally. | | Byrsonima (name refers to use of some species in tanning, in Brazil). Malpighiaceae. Perhaps 100 Trop. American trees and shrubs, frequently climbing, rarely known in cult. Lvs. opposite, thick, simple, entire, the stipules often connate: fls. white, yellow or pink, in terminal simple or branched racemes; sepals and petals 5, the former bearing a pair of glands, the latter clawed and the blades concave; stamens 10, the filaments united at base and bearded: fr. a 3-celled fleshy drupe, with bony seeds, often edible. B. lucida, HBK., occurs in Fla. and W. Indies, a much-branched evergreen shrub, with fls. white turning yellowish or rose; apparently not in the trade. B. crassifolia, HBK. Mex. and S., is offered in S. Callf. Shrub or small tree: Lvs. ovate, tapering each way: fls. yellow in pubescent erect racemes. Said to bear the ''nanche," a popular fruit of the Mexicans. This has a sour fermented taste; it is offered for sale in the markets of the west coast Mexican towns, and is eaten raw with salt, or in soups, or in stuffing for meats. The astringent bark, rich in tannin, is used medicinally. |