390 articles
Mandragora
Mandragora (mandrake), a Solanaceae genus of four accepted species from the Mediterranean to the Tibetan Plateau, known for tropane alkaloids, ancient medicinal and mythological use, and an Eocene origin.
Mangifera
Mangifera is a genus of about 64 accepted species of tropical Asian trees in Anacardiaceae, first published in 1753, including the mango Mangifera indica and many wild edible mango species.
Manilkara
Manilkara is a pantropical genus of about 75–78 Sapotaceae trees, source of chicle (Manilkara zapota), balata latex (M. bidentata), and heavy durable timber; African origin 32–29 Mya, three Pacific species moved to Abebaia in 2023.
Manzanita
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos) is a largely Californian genus of Ericaceae shrubs with red peeling bark and apple-like drupes; fire-adapted, with obligate-seeder and burl-sprouting species, several rare and protected.
Matricaria
Matricaria (chamomile genus) is a small Asteraceae genus of six annual fragrant herbs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere; its species M. chamomilla yields the herbal medicine matricariae flos.
Matthiola
Matthiola (stocks, gillyflower) is a genus of about 50-60 fragrant Brassicaceae herbs and subshrubs named for Pietro Andrea Matthioli; type species Matthiola incana, the common stock, native to southern Europe.
Matucana
Matucana is a genus of about 25 accepted globular Peruvian cacti in Cactaceae, tribe Trichocereeae, published by Britton & Rose in 1922, with diurnal red to yellow flowers and CITES Appendix II protection.
Medicinal plants
Medicinal plants: plant species containing therapeutic substances or precursors of drugs, also called herbal medicine or phytomedicine. Over 50% of modern medicines come from natural sources; use, safety, and regulation vary worldwide.
Medinilla
Medinilla (Medinilla Gaudich. ex DC.) is a paleotropical genus of about 370-390 shrubby Melastomataceae species, recently redefined to include Pachycentria and Plethiandra, with showy ornamentals like M. magnifica.
Melampyrum
Melampyrum (cowwheat, 며느리밥풀속) is a genus of hemiparasitic annual herbs in Orobanchaceae, type species M. pratense, with about 35-37 accepted species across temperate Eurasia and North America.
Melia
Melia (chinaberry genus) is a genus of three Meliaceae tree species, M. azedarach, M. dubia, and M. volkensii, native to Africa, Asia, and Australia, known for toxic limonoid-rich fruits, insecticidal compounds, and invasive M. azedarach.
Melocactus
Melocactus (Turk's cap cacti), genus Link & Otto 1827 in Cactaceae, tribe Cereeae, native from S. Mexico to tropical America; ~36-50 species; distinctive bristly cephalium; hummingbird and lizard pollination; several CITES Appendix I species.
Mercurialis annua
Mercurialis annua (annual mercury, herb mercury) is an annual wind-pollinated Euphorbiaceae herb of Europe and the Mediterranean, a polyploid complex with dioecious, monoecious, and androdioecious populations.
Miconia
Miconia (Ruiz & Pav.) is a large Neotropical genus of Melastomataceae shrubs and trees with about 1,893 accepted species, native to tropical and subtropical America, introduced to Hawaii and Indian Ocean islands, and including rare Atlantic Forest endemics such as Miconia ulei.
Microgreen
Microgreens: young edible vegetable and herb seedlings harvested 7–14 days after planting at the first true leaf stage, 2–8 cm tall, nutrient-dense versus mature greens, eaten raw, with Salmonella and Listeria recall history.
Millettia
Millettia (崖豆藤属) is a genus of Fabaceae legume trees, shrubs, and lianas of the tropical and subtropical Old World, with about 128 accepted species. Molecular studies show it is polyphyletic; Asian and African species are being split into Millettia s.str., Pongamia, Otosema, and other genera. Sources of wenge timber, rotenoid fish poisons, and traditional medicines.
Mimulus
Mimulus (monkeyflowers), a Phrymaceae genus of roughly 160-200 species with radiations in western North America and Australia; a classic model system for adaptation, speciation, and pollinator-shift studies, later split into Erythranthe and Diplacus.
Mimusops
Mimusops, a Sapotaceae tree genus of 49 Old World tropical species including M. elengi and M. zeyheri; native Africa to Australia, introduced to Florida and Hawaii; distinct from Diospyros mimusops.
Muntingia calabura
Muntingia calabura (Jamaican cherry, capulín, kerukup siam) is the sole species of Muntingiaceae genus Muntingia, a 2–12 m Neotropical pioneer tree from Mexico to Bolivia with edible red berries, widely naturalized and studied for flavonoid-rich pharmacological activity.
Musanga
Musanga is an African genus of Urticaceae with two species; the type, Musanga cecropioides (African corkwood, umbrella tree; synonym Musanga smithii), is a fast-growing stilt-rooted pioneer tree of wet tropical Africa used for light timber, pulp, and traditional medicine.
Mutisia
Mutisia L.f. is a genus of about 65 accepted species of tendrilled lianas and scrambling shrubs in Asteraceae, tribe Mutisieae, native to the Andes and southern South America, with showy heads and hummingbird pollination.
Myrcia
Myrcia is a genus of roughly 800 accepted species of evergreen shrubs and trees in the myrtle family, native from southern Mexico to tropical America, especially Brazil.
Myriophyllum
Myriophyllum (watermilfoils), Haloragaceae genus of about 60 aquatic species with feathery whorled leaves; includes invasive Eurasian watermilfoil (M. spicatum) and parrotfeather (M. aquaticum), whose hybrids resist 2,4-D herbicide.
Myrsine
Myrsine (colicwood; Rapanea) is a pantropical genus of about 200-300 species of dioecious shrubs and trees in Primulaceae, formerly Myrsinaceae, with small punctate flowers, drupaceous fruits, and medicinal species such as M. africana.
Nauclea
Nauclea is a genus of Rubiaceae trees native to tropical Africa, Asia, and northern Australia, used in traditional medicine against malaria and pain and for timber; key species include N. latifolia, N. officinalis, and threatened N. diderrichii.
Nelumbo
Nelumbo is the sole genus of Nelumbonaceae (Proteales), the true lotuses, with two species, Asian N. nucifera and American N. lutea; distinct from Nymphaea water lilies in leaves, fruit, and alkaloids, with seeds viable for over a millennium.
Neptunia
Neptunia (water mimosa genus) is a pantropical legume genus in Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae, Mimoseae, with about 20-22 species, two fully aquatic species (N. oleracea, N. plena), touch-sensitive bipinnate leaves, and the edible Thai vegetable water mimosa.
Nicotiana
Nicotiana (tobacco genus), Solanaceae flowering plants named for Jean Nicot; 60–109 species native to the Americas, Australia, and Namibia; source of nicotine, with polyploid species including N. tabacum and model plant N. benthamiana.
Nut (fruit)
A nut is, in strict botany, a dry, one-seeded fruit with a hard pericarp that does not open at maturity, though in cooking the word covers almost any edible oily kernel in a shell.
Olea
Olea is a genus of about 32 evergreen Oleaceae trees and shrubs of the Old World, including the olive Olea europaea with six subspecies, over 1,000 cultivars, and the wild oleaster var. sylvestris.