Ormosia

For the chioneine crane fly genus, see Ormosia (insect).

Ormosia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Tribe:	Sophoreae
Genus:	Ormosia Jacks.
Species
Over 110, see text
Synonyms
[1] Anatropostylia (Plitmann) Kupicha Fedorouia (lapsus) Fedorovia Yakovlev Layia Hook. & Arn. (non Hook. & Arn. ex DC.: nom. rej.) Macrotropis DC. Macroule Pierce Ormosiopsis Ducke Placolobium Miq.[2] Podopetalum F.Muell. Ruddia Yakovlev Toulichiba Adans. Trichocyamos Yakovlev

Ormosia is a genus of legumes (family Fabaceae). The more than 110 living species, mostly trees or large shrubs, are distributed throughout the tropical regions of the world, some extending into temperate zones, especially in East Asia. A few species are threatened by habitat destruction, while the Hainan Ormosia (O. howii) is probably extinct already.

Plants in this genus are commonly known as horse-eye beans or simply ormosias, and in Spanish by the somewhat ambiguous term "chocho". The scientific name Ormosia is a nomen conservandum, overruling Toulichiba which is formally rejected in the 2006 International Code of Botanical Nomenclature^[1].

The seeds of these plants are poisonous if eaten, but often look pretty, with bright colors and decorative patterns reminiscent of an eye; the common name "horse-eye beans" refers to these seeds. They resemble the seeds of Abrus, snoutbeans (Rhynchosia) and Adenanthera, but are much larger than the former two. In particular those of Ormosia coccinea are often used for jewelry and other decorative purposes, or as good luck charms. The seeds float and are occasionally found as "sea beans".

Otherwise, Ormosia wood is used as timber or firewood. Some species, for example O. nobilis, are also used in folk medicine.^[3]

List of species

116 species are accepted as valid by ILDIS:^[4]

Ormosia amazonica Ducke Ormosia antioquensis Rudd Ormosia apiculata L.Chen Ormosia arborea (Vell.) Harms Ormosia assamica Yakovlev Ormosia avilensis Pittier Ormosia bahiensis Monach. Ormosia balansae Drake Ormosia bancana (Miq.) Merr. Ormosia bopiensis J.F.Macbr. Ormosia calavensis Blanco Ormosia cambodiana Gagnep. Ormosia chevalieri Niyomdham Ormosia cinerea Benoist Ormosia coarctata Jacks. Ormosia coccinea Ormosia colombiana Rudd Ormosia costulata (Miq.) Kleinhoonte Ormosia coutinhoi Ducke – Red Horse-eye Bean Ormosia crassivalvis Gagnep. Ormosia cruenta Ormosia cuatrecasasii Rudd Ormosia discolor Benth. Ormosia elata Rudd Ormosia elliptica Q.W.Yao & R.H.Chang Ormosia emarginata (Hook. & Arn.) Benth. (= O. glaberrima C.Y.Wu) Ormosia eugeniifolia R.H.Chang Ormosia excelsa Benth. Ormosia fastigiata Tul. Ormosia ferruginea R.H.Chang Ormosia flava (Ducke) Rudd Ormosia fordiana Oliv. Ormosia formosana Kaneh. Ormosia friburgensis Glaz. Ormosia froesii Rudd Ormosia glaberrima Y.C.Wu Ormosia glauca Wall. Ormosia gracilis Ormosia grandiflora (Tul.) Rudd Ormosia grandistipulata

Ormosia grossa Rudd Ormosia hekouensis R.H.Chang Ormosia henryi Prain Ormosia hoaensis Gagnep. Ormosia holerythra Ducke Ormosia hosiei Ormosia howii – Hainan Ormosia (probably extinct) Ormosia indurata L.Chen Ormosia inflata Merr. & L.Chen Ormosia isthmensis Standl. Ormosia jamaicensis Ormosia kerrii Niyomdham Ormosia krugii Urb. Ormosia laosensis Niyomdham Ormosia larecajana Rudd Ormosia lignivalvis Rudd Ormosia longipes L.Chen Ormosia macrocalyx Ducke Ormosia macrodisca Baker Ormosia macrophylla Benth. Ormosia maguireorum Rudd Ormosia melanocarpa Kleinhoonte Ormosia microphylla Merr. & L.Chen Ormosia minor Vogel Ormosia monosperma (Sw.) Urb. Ormosia nanningensis L.Chen Ormosia napoensis Z.Wei & R.H.Chang Ormosia nitida Vogel Ormosia nobilis Tul. Ormosia nuda (F.C.How) R.H.Chang & Q.W.Yao Ormosia oaxacana Rudd Ormosia olivacea L.Chen Ormosia ormondii (F.Muell.) Merr. Ormosia pachycarpa Benth. – Hairy-fruited Ormosia Ormosia pachyptera L.Chen Ormosia panamensis – coronil, sur espino Ormosia paniculata Merr. Ormosia paraensis Ducke

Ormosia penangensis Ridl. Ormosia peruviana Rudd Ormosia pingbianensis W.C.Cheng & R.H.Chang Ormosia pinnata (Lour.) Merr. (= O. semicastrata auct. non Hance) Ormosia poilanei Niyomdham Ormosia polita (= O. nitida Prain) Ormosia pubescens R.H.Chang Ormosia purpureiflora L.Chen Ormosia revoluta Rudd Ormosia robusta Baker Ormosia ruddiana Yakovlev Ormosia saxatilis K.M.Lan Ormosia scandens Prain Ormosia schippii Standl. & Steyerm. Ormosia schunkei Rudd Ormosia semicastrata Hance Ormosia sericeolucida L.Chen Ormosia simplicifolia Merr. & L.Chen Ormosia smithii Rudd Ormosia solimoesensis Rudd Ormosia steyermarkii Rudd Ormosia stipulacea Meeuwen Ormosia stipularis Ducke Ormosia striata Dunn Ormosia sumatrana (Miq.) Prain (= O. coarctata auct. non Jacks.) Ormosia surigaensis Merr. Ormosia tavoyana Prain Ormosia tonkinensis Gagnep. Ormosia tovarensis Pittier Ormosia travancorica Bedd. Ormosia tsangii L.Chen Ormosia velutina Rudd Ormosia venezolana Rudd Ormosia venosa Baker Ormosia vicosana Rudd Ormosia williamsii Rudd Ormosia xylocarpa Merr. & L.Chen Ormosia zahnii Harms

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b} USDA (2007)
2. ^ Listed as valid by ILDIS (2005), but the type species P. sumatranum is now O. macrodisca and thus Placolobium is not valid.
3. ^ Marín-Corba et al. (2005)
4. ^ ILDIS (2005)

References

• International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS) (2005): Genera Ormosia and Placolobium. Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2008-DEC-24.
• Marín-Corba, César; Cárdenas-López, Dairon & Suárez-Suárez, Stella (2005): Utilidad del valor de uso en etnobotánica. Estudio en el departamento de Putumayo (Colombia) [Use Value usefulness in ethnobotany. Case study in Putumayo department (Colombia)]. Caldasia 27(1): 89-101 [Spanish with English abstract]. PDF fulltext
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2007): Germplasm Resources Information Network – Ormosia. Version of 2007-OCT-05. Retrieved 2008-DEC-24.