Guarea
{{short description|Genus of plants}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Guarea guidonia 3.JPG
|image_caption = Guarea guidonia
|taxon = Guarea
|authority = F. Allam ex L.
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = See text
}}
Guarea is a genus of evergreen trees or shrubs in the family Meliaceae, native to tropical Africa and Central and South America. At their largest, they are large trees 20–45 m tall, with a trunk over 1 m diameter, often buttressed at the base. The leaves are pinnate, with 4–6 pairs of leaflets, the terminal leaflet present. They are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.{{cite journal|first1=T. D.|last1=Pennington|first2=B. T.|last2=Styles|title=A Generic Monograph of the Meliaceae|journal=Blumea|volume=22|date=1975|pages=419–540}} The flowers are produced in loose inflorescences, each flower small, with 4–5 yellowish petals. The fruit is a four or five-valved capsule, containing several seeds, each surrounded by a yellow-orange fleshy aril; the seeds are dispersed by hornbills and monkeys which eat the aril.
Species
Species accepted by Plants of the World Online as of March 2019:{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331634-2 |title=Guarea |date=2017 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|access-date=17 March 2019}}
{{Columns-list|
{{Linked species list|
Guarea aguilarii|Al.Rodr.|
Guarea anomala|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea bijuga|C.DC.|
Guarea blanchetii|C.DC.|
Guarea bullata|Radlk.|
Guarea carapoides|Harms|
Guarea carinata|Ducke|
Guarea cartaguenya|Cuatrec.|
Guarea casimiriana|Harms|
Guarea caulobotrys|Cuatrec. (also spelt caulobotryis)|
Guarea chiricana|Standl.|
Guarea cinnamomea|Harms|
Guarea constricta|Al.Rodr.|
Guarea convergens|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea corrugata|Cuatrec.|
Guarea corticosa|Al.Rodr.|
Guarea costata|A.Juss.|
Guarea crispa|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea cristata|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea donnell-smithii|C.DC.|
Guarea ecuadoriensis|W.Palacios|
Guarea eriorhachis|Harms|
Guarea fissicalyx|Harms|
Guarea fistulosa|W.Palacios|
Guarea gentryi|Coronado|
Guarea glabra|Vahl|
Guarea gomma|Pulle|
Guarea gracilis|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea grossa|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea guentheri|Harms|
Guarea guidonia|(L.) Sleumer|
Guarea hoffmanniana|C.DC.|
Guarea humaitensis|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea inesiana|Al.Rodr.|
Guarea jamaicensis|Proctor|
Guarea juglandiformis|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea kunthiana|A.Juss.|
Guarea lozanoi|Morales-P.|
Guarea luxii|C.DC.|
Guarea macrocalyx|Al.Rodr.|
Guarea macrophylla|Vahl|
Guarea megacostata|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea megantha|A.Juss.|
Guarea mexicana|Coronado|
Guarea michel-moddei|T.D.Penn. & S.A.Mori|
Guarea pendula|R.da Silva Ramalho, A.L.Pinheiro & T.D.Penn.|
Guarea persistens|W.Palacios|
Guarea polymera|Little|
Guarea pterorhachis|Harms|
Guarea pubescens|(Rich.) A.Juss.|
Guarea purusana|C.DC.|
Guarea pyriformis|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea reticulatovenosa|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea rhopalocarpa|Radlk.|
Guarea riparia|W.Palacios|
Guarea scabra|A.Juss.|
Guarea silvatica|C.DC.|
Guarea sphenophylla|Urb.|
Guarea sprucei|C.DC.|
Guarea subandina|W.Palacios|
Guarea subsessilifolia|Al.Rodr.|
Guarea tafae-malekui|Al.Rodr.|
Guarea talamancana|Gómez-Laur. & Valerio|
Guarea tonduzii|C.DC.|
Guarea trunciflora|C.DC.|
Guarea velutina|A.Juss.|
Guarea venenata|T.D.Penn.|
Guarea zarceroensis|Coronado|
Guarea zepivae|T.D.Penn.
}}
}}
Uses
The timber is important; the African species are known as bossé, guarea, or pink mahogany, and the South American species as cramantee or American muskwood.
It is said to possibly cause hallucinations if ingested.{{cite web
|url = http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/sciencemedicine/story/75472D1F5D896D71862575AD000E9C69?OpenDocument
|date = 5 May 2009
|first= Kim |last=McGuire
|title = Scientists get dirt on mystery plant
|publisher = St. Louis Post-Dispatch
|accessdate = 2009-05-07
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090616130408/http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/sciencemedicine/story/75472D1F5D896D71862575AD000E9C69?OpenDocument
|archivedate = 16 June 2009
}}
File:Corinthos by Barbara Hepworth, Tate Liverpool.jpg at Tate Liverpool{{cite web| url=http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hepworth-corinthos-t00531/text-catalogue-entry | title=Corinthos 1954–5 | publisher=Tate Gallery | location=UK | accessdate=5 August 2015 }}]]
The wood can be used for sculpture and was favoured by the British 20th century sculptor Barbara Hepworth.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3307770}}
{{Meliaceae-stub}}