Mexican buckeye
StatusLC
Status systemIUCN3.1
Display parents2
GenusUngnadia
Parent authorityEndl.[1]
Speciesspeciosa
AuthorityEndl.[2]

Ungnadia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae, containing one species, Ungnadia speciosa, commonly known as the Mexican buckeye. It is native to northern Mexico, as well as Texas and southern New Mexico in the United States.[1][2] The name honors Austrian ambassador Baron David Ungnad von Sonnegg, son of Andreas Ungnad von Sonnegg, who brought the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) to Vienna in 1576, introducing the plant into western Europe.[3][4][5][6][failed verification]

It differs from the buckeyes in the related genus Aesculus but the seeds and nuts are similar.[7][5][8][9] Another similar related genus is the soapberry (genus Sapindus). Ungnadia seeds are poisonous despite their sweetness, and sometimes used as marbles.[10] The foliage is toxic and rarely browsed by livestock, but bees produce honey from the floral nectar.[5]

Description

Ungnadia speciosa is a deciduous shrub or small tree (< 25 ft) that is often multi-trunked. The leaves (5–12 inches or 13–30 centimetres) are alternate and pinnately compound with 5 to 9 leaflets. The leaflets are long (3–5 inches or 7.6–12.7 centimetres), narrow, and pointed with slight serrations.[11][5]

References

  1. ^ "Ungnadia Endl.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2006-03-29. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  2. ^
  3. ^ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. Vol. 4 R-Z. Taylor & Francis US. p. 2760. ISBN 978-0-8493-2678-3.
  4. ^ Endlicher, Stephan (1841). Enchiridion botanicum, exhibens classes et ordines plantarum accedit nomenclator generum et officinalium vel usualium indicatio.. Lipsiae, Sumptibus G. Engelmann. p. 565.
  5. ^ Little, Elbert L. (1994 [1980]). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Western Region. Chanticleer Press ed. Knopf. p. 544. ISBN 0-394-50761-4.
  6. ^ Endlicher, Stephan (1839). Novarum stirpium decas I-X.. Vindobonae :Typis Sollingerianis. p. 75.
  7. ^ Young, James A. & Young, Cheryl G. (2009). Seeds of Woody Plants in North America. Dioscorides Press. ISBN 978-1-60469-112-2.
  8. ^ The Woody Plant Seed Manual. Vol. Agric. Handbook No. 727. Washington, DC.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2008.
  9. ^ Silvics of North America. Vol. Agric. Handbook No. 654. Washington, DC.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1990.
  10. ^ Stahl, Carmine & McElvaney, Ria (2003). Trees of Texas. College Station, TX: Texas A&M Press. ISBN 978-1-60344-515-3.
  11. ^ Nokes, Jill (2001). How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-75573-4.