Micropholis

For the prehistoric amphibian, see Micropholis (amphibian). For the brittle star genus now renamed Microphiopholis, see Amphiuridae.

Micropholis
Micropholis crassipedicellata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Sapotaceae
Subfamily: Chrysophylloideae
Genus: Micropholis
(Griseb.) Pierre
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Sapota section Micropholis Griseb.
  • Pouteria section Micropholis (Griseb.) Baehni
  • Crepinodendron Pierre
  • Meioluma Baill.
  • Paramicropholis Aubrév. & Pellegr.
  • Platyluma Baill.
  • Sprucella Pierre 1890, illegitimate homonym, not Steph. 1886 (Lepidoziaceae)
  • Stephanoluma Baill.

Micropholis is genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae, described in 1891.[3][1][4]

These trees are native to tropical South America, Mesoamerica, and the West Indies.[2] Most are locally known as "cafetos", literally meaning "coffee plants". But while both Micropholis and the coffeeplant genus Coffea are asterids, the present genus is part of the Ericales – a quite basal asterid lineage –, while Coffea belongs to the more advanced Gentianales.

They are valued for their wood, which is used as timber, for construction and as firewood; many species are threatened by overexploitation and habitat destruction. Also, they are often used as part of catuaba, a decoction from various tree's bark claimed to have aphrodisiac and stimulant properties.

Caimitillo verde (M. garciniifolia) is an important food source of the nearly-extinct Puerto Rican amazon bird (Amazona vittata).

Species[2]
  1. Micropholis acutangula - French Guiana, Amapá
  2. Micropholis brochidodroma - Ecuador, N Peru
  3. Micropholis casiquiarensis - Guyana, Venezuela (Amazonas), Brazil (Amazonas)
  4. Micropholis caudata - Brazil (Amazonas)
  5. Micropholis cayennensis - French Guiana, Amapá
  6. Micropholis compta - E Brazil
  7. Micropholis crassipedicellata - E + S Brazil
  8. Micropholis crotonoides - Costa Rica, Panama, St. Lucia, NW South America
  9. Micropholis cylindrocarpa - Brazil (Amazonas), Peru (Loreto)
  10. Micropholis egensis - Panama, N South America
  11. Micropholis emarginata - Bahia
  12. Micropholis garciniifolia - Puerto Rico
  13. Micropholis gardneriana - Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil
  14. Micropholis gnaphaloclados - Brazil, Bolivia
  15. Micropholis grandiflora - Brazil (Amazonas)
  16. Micropholis guyanensis - Costa Rica, Panama, West Indies, tropSouth America
  17. Micropholis humboldtiana - Venezuela, Brazil
  18. Micropholis longipedicellata - French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Amapá
  19. Micropholis macrophylla - Peru (Loreto)
  20. Micropholis madeirensis - Brazil (Amazonas), Peru (Loreto)
  21. Micropholis maguirei - Venezuela, Brazil
  22. Micropholis melinoniana - S Mexico, Central America, NW South America
  23. Micropholis mensalis - French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, N Brazil
  24. Micropholis obscura - French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Peru, N Brazil
  25. Micropholis polita - Cuba, Haiti
  26. Micropholis porphyrocarpa - French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, N Brazil
  27. Micropholis resinifera - Brazil (Amazonas)
  28. Micropholis retusa - Brazil (Amazonas)
  29. Micropholis rugosa - Jamaica
  30. Micropholis sanctae-rosae - French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, N Brazil
  31. Micropholis spectabilis - Bolívar
  32. Micropholis splendens - Venezuela, Brazil
  33. Micropholis submarginalis - Brazil (Amazonas)
  34. Micropholis suborbicularis - Venezuela
  35. Micropholis trunciflora - Peru, N Brazil
  36. Micropholis venamoensis - Bolívar
  37. Micropholis venulosa - Central + South America
  38. Micropholis williamii - Brazil (Amazonas, Pará)
  1. ^ a b Tropicos, Micropholis (Griseb.) Pierre
  2. ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ^ Pierre, Jean Baptiste Louis. 1891. Notes Botaniques: Sapotacées 2: 37–38
  4. ^ Govaerts, R.; Harvey, Y.; Jessup, L.; Pennington, T.D. & Vink, W. (2001): World Checklist of Sapotaceae – Micropholis. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2008-DEC-24.