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Wikipedia / Swartzia

Swartzia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It was named in honor of Swedish botanist Olof Swartz and contains about 200 species. Swartzia is restricted in its geographical distribution to the New World Tropics, where it occurs primarily in lowland rainforests, but also in savannas, pre-montane forests, and tropical dry forests. While it can be found throughout the wet lowlands from Mexico and the Caribbean islands to southern Brazil and Bolivia, Swartzia is most abundant and species-rich in Amazonia, where 10–20 species may co-occur at a single site. The species of Swartzia are mostly trees, ranging from small understory treelets to large canopy emergents. Some species, especially in savannas, are mult-stemmed shrubs.

Fossil record

Many Swartzia fossils from the middle Eocene epoch are known from the United States. 5 fossil dehiscent seed pods and 50 fossil leaflets have been described from the Warman and Lawrence clay pits in Weakley and the Henry Counties, Tennessee. In addition 6 leaflets have been described from the New Lawrence and Miller clay pits in Henry County, Tennessee.

List of species

More than 200 species have been described:

Swartzia apetala Raddi

Swartzia myrtifolia Sm.

Swartzia schomburgkii Benth.

Swartzia simplex (Sw.) Spreng.

  • var. grandiflora (Raddi) Cowan

  • var. ochnaceae (DC.) R. S. Cowan

  • var. simplex (Sw.) Spreng.

Recent phylogenetic analyses have revealed several well-supported clades within Swartzia that roughly correspond to previously-erected sections and series in the genus.

Nomina dubiaNomina dubia

The following species may or may not be valid:

  • Swartzia arenarium Ducke

  • Swartzia flabellipetala Pittier

  • Swartzia microcalyx Ducke

  • Swartzia shnilis Benoist

References