Piscidia
Encyclopedia
Piscidia is a genus of flowering plant
s in subfamily Faboideae
of the legume family, Fabaceae
. The generic name is derived from the Latin
words piscis, meaning "fish," and caedo, meaning "to kill." It refers to the use of extracts from the plant to poison fish.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in subfamily Faboideae
Faboideae
Faboideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. One acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae....
of the legume family, Fabaceae
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
. The generic name is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
words piscis, meaning "fish," and caedo, meaning "to kill." It refers to the use of extracts from the plant to poison fish.
Selected species
- Piscidia carthagenensis Jacq.
- Piscidia grandifolia (Donn.Sm.) I.M.Johnst.
- Piscidia mollis Rose
- Piscidia piscipulaPiscidia piscipulaPiscidia piscipula, commonly named Florida fishpoison tree, Jamaican dogwood or Fishfuddle, is a medium-sized, deciduous, tropical tree endemic to southern Florida, the Florida Keys, Texas, Caribbean, and Latin America. Native Americans of the West Indies discovered extracts from the tree could...
(L.) Sarg.
Formerly placed here
- Sesbania punicea (Cav.) Benth. (as P. punicea Cav.)