Melicoccus

Genera: Anthochloa - Glyceria - Lophochlaena - Lycochloa - Melica - Pleuropogon - Schizachne - Streblochaete - Triniochloa

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids II
Ordo: Sapindales

Familia: Sapindaceae
Subfamilia: Sapindoideae
Tribus: Melicocceae
Genus: Melicoccus
Species: M. antioquensis – M. aymardii – M. bijugatus – M. espiritosantensis – M. jimenezii – M. lepidopetalus – M. novogranatensis – M. oliviformis – M. pedicellaris – M. petiolulatus
Name

Melicoccus P.Browne, Civ. Nat. Hist. Jamaica 210 (-211). (1756)

Type species: Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq., Enum. Syst. Pl. 19. (1760)

Synonyms

Replaced synonym
Melicocca L., Sp. Pl., ed. 2. 1: 495 (1762), nom. illeg.
Heterotypic
Casimira Scop.

References

Browne, P. 1756. The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica in Three Parts 210 (-211).
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Melicoccus in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Apr. 6. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2021. Melicoccus. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Apr. 6. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Melicoccus. Published online. Accessed: Apr. 6 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Melicoccus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Apr. 6.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Melicoccus in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Melicoccus is a genus of ten species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae, native to tropical regions of northern and western South America.[2]

They are evergreen trees growing to 30 metres (98 ft) tall, with alternate pinnate leaves with 4 or 6 opposite leaflets (no terminal leaflet). The fruit is a drupe. Several species, but principally M. bijugatus, are widely cultivated in their native areas and elsewhere in Central America and the Caribbean for their fruit.

Some species of the related genus Talisia are sometimes included in Melicoccus.

Species[2]

Melicoccus antioquensis Acevedo-Rodríguez — Colombia
Melicoccus aymardii Acevedo-Rodríguez — Venezuela
Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq. – Mamoncillo (Colombia, Venezuela)
Melicoccus espritosantensis Acevedo-Rodríguez — eastern Brazil
Melicoccus jimenezii (Alain) Acevedo-Rodríguez — Dominican Republic
Melicoccus lepidopetalus Radlk. – Motoyoé or Yva Povo (Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay), Argentina
Melicoccus novogranatensis Acevedo-Rodríguez — Colombia and Ecuador
Melicoccus oliviformis HBK — Mexico, Central and South America and Trinidad
Melicoccus pedicellaris (Sagot ex Radlk.) Acevedo-Rodríguez Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil

Melicoccus petiolutatus Acevedo-Rodríguez — Peru

Taxonomy

The genus Melicoccus was first described by Patrick Browne, an Irish doctor and botanist, in 1756. This description was based on M. bijugatus trees which were cultivated in Jamaica. In 1760, Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin described the first species in Browne's genus, which he named M. bijugatus. In 1762 Linnaeus used a spelling variation of the name Melicocca bijuga. Over the next two centuries, Linnaeus' spelling variation was used in almost all publications. A proposal was made in 1994 to conserve Melicocca over Melicoccus, but the proposal was rejected, leading to a restoration of the original version of the name.[2]

In 1888 German taxonomist Ludwig Radlkofer placed Melicoccus in the tribe Melicocceae together with eight other genera. In his monograph on the Neotropical members of the tribe (Talisia and Melicoccus) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez suggested that although Talisia and Melicoccus appeared to form a monophyletic group, the other (Old World) genera probably did not belong to the same lineage.[2]
References

"Melicoccus P. Browne". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2006-03-29. Archived from the original on 2009-05-06. Retrieved 2010-01-19.

Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro (2003). "Melicocceae (Sapindaceae): Melicoccus and Talisia". Flora Neotropica. 87: 1–178. JSTOR 4393917.

New World Fruits Database: Melicoccus lepidopetalus[permanent dead link]