Mora (plant)
{{Short description|Genus of legumes}}
{{automatic taxobox
|image = Dimorphandra mora-Jardin botanique de Kandy (1).jpg
|taxon = Mora (plant)
|authority = Benth. (1839)
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = 6; see text
|subdivision_ref = [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:22970-1 Mora R.H.Schomb. ex Benth.] Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
}}
Mora is a genus of large trees in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae{{cite journal | author = The Legume Phylogeny Working Group (LPWG). | year = 2017 | title = A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny | journal = Taxon | volume = 66 | issue = 1 | pages = 44–77 | doi = 10.12705/661.3| doi-access = free | hdl = 10568/90658 | hdl-access = free }} of the legume family Fabaceae (or in some classifications the family Caesalpinaceae of the order Fabales). There are six species, all native to lowland rainforests in northern South America, southern Central America, the southern Caribbean islands, and Hispaniola.
Species
- Mora abbottii Britton & Rose — cola tree, coi, col (Dominican Republic)
- Mora ekmanii (Urb.) Britton & Rose (Hispaniola - Dominican Republic, Haiti)
- Mora excelsa Benth. — nato, nato rojo, mora (Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela)
- Mora gonggrijpii (Kleinhoonte) Sandwith — Moraboekea (Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela)
- Mora oleifera (Hemsl.) Ducke (Panama, Colombia)
- Mora paraensis (Ducke) Ducke — pracuuba (Brazil)
Description
These are large, heavily buttressed rainforest trees up to {{convert|130|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} in height (to {{convert|190|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} in the case of M. excelsa).{{ cite journal| last= Beard | first= J. S. | date= July 1946 | title= The Mora Forests of Trinidad...etc | journal= Journal of Ecology | volume= 33 | issue= 2 | pages= 173–192 | doi=10.2307/2256464| jstor= 2256464}} The genus is particularly noteworthy for the exceptional size of its beans, which are commonly acknowledged to be the largest known dicot seeds, in the instance of M. oleifera being up to {{convert|7|in|cm|spell=in}} in length, {{convert|6|in|cm|spell=in}} in breadth and {{convert|3|in|cm|spell=in}}in thickness,http://www.inbio.ac.cr/bims/ubi/plantas/ubiespejo/ubiid2143&find.html{{dead link|date=February 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}Elbert L. Little and Robert G. Dixon, "Arboles Comunes de la Provincia de Esmerelda" (Rome: UNFAO, 1969)p. 222. and a weight of up to {{convert|2.2|lb|g|abbr=off}}.Daniel H. Janzen, "Costa Rican Natural History" (Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press,1983) p. 281 These very large beans develop out of tiny flowers with a pistil only one millimeter wide Encyclopedia Britanica (1970 edition ) Volume 13 page 911 involving a growth of over 2,000,000 fold. The species M. excelsa is one of the few rainforest trees to grow in pure stands.Ivan T. Sanderson and David Loth, "Ivan Sanderson's Book of Great Jungles" (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965) p. 116.
Uses
The beans of Mora spp. are edible if boiled, and are also the source of a red dyestuff.O.N. Allen and Ethel K. Allen, "The Leguminosae" (Madison: Univ. Wisconsin Press) pp. 445-446
Some of the species are important for timber production. Mora excelsa and Mora gonggrijpii are also known as nato, and are commonly used in guitar body and neck construction.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060312190407/http://www.windsorplywood.com/tropical_woods/mora.html Mora excelsa and Mora gonggrijpii]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1461699}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mora (Plant)}}
Category:Flora of Southern America
{{Caesalpinioideae-stub}}