Lonchocarpus violaceus

Lonchocarpus violaceus is a species of evergreen tree in the Fabaceae (legume) family. It is native to the Caribbean and northern South America.[1] It has been introduced to Florida.[2] Its names include lilac tree, greenheart, Spanish ash, and lancepod.[1]

Lonchocarpus violaceus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Tribe: Millettieae
Genus: Lonchocarpus
Species:
L. violaceus
Binomial name
Lonchocarpus violaceus
Synonyms
  • Robinia violaceae Jacq.
  • Dalbergia violaceae (Jacq.) Hoffsgg.
  • Lonchocarpus benthamianus Pittier
  • Lonchocarpus caribaeus Urb.

According to some sources L. violaceus was used by the Maya peoples to produce the alcoholic beverage, balché. It is likely they are actually referring to L. longistylus which was once synonymized with L. violaceus.[3]

References
  1. Grandtner, M. M. (2005). Elsevier's Dictionary of Trees (1st ed.). Elsevier. pp. 489. ISBN 0444517847.
  2. Stebbins, Mark (1990). Flowering Trees of Florida (1st ed.). Pineapple Press. pp. 94–95. ISBN 1561641731.
  3. Cook, Suzanne (2016). The Forest of the Lacandon Maya: An Ethnobotanical Guide. Springer. pp. 144–145. ISBN 9781461491101.


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