2,112 articles
Mangifera indica
Mangifera indica (mango), Anacardiaceae tree native from Assam to southern Yunnan, grown for its large drupe; two gene pools (Indian, Southeast Asian), 62 Mt production base, allergens Man i 1, 2, 4.
Mangosteen
Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana, Thai มังคุด), the Queen of Fruits, a Southeast Asian evergreen tree with apomictic seeds, 5-6 year juvenile phase, Thailand the top producer, and gamboge as the main fruit quality disorder.
Manihot
Manihot is a genus of about 140 species of latex-producing shrubs and trees in the spurge family, native from the southern United States to northwestern Argentina.
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.
Manilkara zapota
Manilkara zapota (sapodilla, chicle tree; syn. Achras zapota), a Sapotaceae tree native from Mexico to Colombia, grown for sweet brown fruit and formerly tapped for chicle chewing-gum latex; least concern, invasive in south Florida.
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.
Maple
Maple (genus Acer, Sapindaceae), about 155 Northern Hemisphere tree species with lobed leaves and winged samaras; sugar maple and red maple dominate syrup, with Canada over 75% of world production.
Maple leaf
Maple leaf: the lobed leaf of Acer trees, emblem of Canada since the 19th century and centerpiece of the 11-point design on the National Flag of Canada (1965); also known for anthocyanin-driven red autumn coloration.
Maraschino cherry
Maraschino cherry: a preserved sweet cherry bleached in sulfite brine, sugared, dyed red, and almond-flavored (US style), or the original Marasca cherry candied in syrup by Luxardo since 1905; FDA name defined by 1940 TC-194.
Marigold
Marigold is a common name for several Asteraceae flowers: Calendula officinalis (pot marigold, W Mediterranean) and American Tagetes species (T. erecta African marigold, T. patula French marigold), grown ornamentally and for lutein carotenoids.
Marjoram
Marjoram (Origanum majorana, sweet marjoram) is a Lamiaceae culinary herb from Cyprus and southern Turkey, milder and sweeter than oregano, with terpinen-4-ol/sabinene hydrate essential oil studied as a natural pesticide.
Marrubium
Marrubium (horehounds) is a Lamiaceae herb genus, type species M. vulgare, white horehound; 40-53 species native from Macaronesia and Europe to Central Asia and the Himalaya; source of the diterpene marrubiin.
Marrubium vulgare
Marrubium vulgare, white horehound (Marrubii herba), a Lamiaceae perennial herb native from Europe to the Himalaya, used traditionally as an expectorant, for dyspepsia, and for appetite loss; EMA traditional-use monograph, major diterpene marrubiin, invasive weed in Australia.
Mastic (μαστίχα) (plant resin)
Mastic (μαστίχα, mastiha) is the aromatic resin of Pistacia lentiscus, produced almost exclusively in southern Chios, Greece; a PDO product since 1997, harvested by traditional incision, UNESCO-listed in 2014, and used in food, gum, and herbal medicine.
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.
Matricaria chamomilla
Matricaria chamomilla (German chamomile, syn. Matricaria recutita) is an annual Asteraceae herb whose flower heads yield chamomile tea and essential oil rich in α-bisabolol and chamazulene; clinical trials suggest modest sleep-quality benefits and generally mild, self-limiting adverse events.
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.
Medicago
Medicago, commonly called medics, is a genus of about 91 species of legume plants including alfalfa, the world's most widely cultivated forage crop, and the model species barrel medic.
Medicago lupulina
Medicago lupulina, black medick or black medic, is a selfing annual or short-lived perennial legume native from Europe to China, used as forage and cover crop, nodulating with Ensifer meliloti and E. medicae, and a common lawn weed in North America.
Medicago truncatula
Medicago truncatula (barrel medic), a Mediterranean annual legume and model organism for legume biology, with diploid genome 2n=16, Sinorhizobium nitrogen-fixing nodulation, and reference genomes A17 Mt3.5-Mt5.0 and R108.
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.
Megaskepasma erythrochlamys
Megaskepasma erythrochlamys, Brazilian red-cloak or red justicia, is the sole species of its Acanthaceae genus, a tropical evergreen shrub with red bracts and white tubular flowers, native to northern South America and Central America and widely cultivated.
Melaleuca
Melaleuca, the paperbarks, is a Myrtaceae genus of about 260 to 382 species native from Indo-China to Australia and New Caledonia. Its species yield tea tree and niaouli oils, while M. quinquenervia has invaded over 200,000 hectares of Florida Everglades wetlands.
Melaleuca alternifolia
Melaleuca alternifolia, the Australian tea tree, a Myrtaceae shrub native to Queensland and northeast NSW; source of tea tree oil (terpinen-4-ol type, ISO 4730), used topically for acne and infections, toxic if swallowed.
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.
Melastoma malabathricum
Melastoma malabathricum (senduduk, Singapore rhododendron, Malabar melastome) is a Melastomataceae shrub native from Seychelles and Asia to Australia, a folk-medicinal aluminum-accumulating weed with purple berries that stain the mouth black.
Melastomataceae
Melastomataceae Juss., the melastome family, a pantropical Myrtales family of about 150–190 genera and 4,500–5,800 species, recognized by acrodromous leaf venation, hypanthiate flowers, and buzz-pollinated poricidal anthers.
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.