Plants and algae

Malva sylvestris

Malva sylvestris, common mallow, is a Malvaceae herb native from Macaronesia and Europe to Central Asia and the W. Himalaya, with pink-purple veined flowers, EU-approved traditional medicinal uses, and food use.

Malvaceae

Malvaceae, known as the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants with about 4,200 species, largely tropical to temperate, including cotton, okra, cacao, durian, hibiscus, and baobab.

Malvales

Malvales, an order of flowering plants (rosid, near Brassicales and Sapindales) with 10 families, ~6,100 species, including Malvaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Cistaceae; cotton, cocoa, durian; Upper Cretaceous origin.

Mammea

Mammea L. is a pantropical genus of tropical trees in Calophyllaceae, first published in 1753, with 45 accepted species per Kew and centres of diversity in Madagascar and Borneo; includes the mammee apple, Mammea americana.

Mammillaria

Mammillaria (pincushion cactus) is a large Cactaceae genus of small tuberculate cacti, 144 accepted species, native from central USA to Colombia and Venezuela, mostly Mexican, CITES Appendix II.

Mammillaria geminispina

Mammillaria geminispina, twin-spined cactus, is a clustering Mexican cactus in Cactaceae, described by Haworth in 1824, native to northeast Mexico to Veracruz, with 65 synonyms, CITES Appendix II listing, and RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Mammillaria hahniana

Mammillaria hahniana, the old lady cactus (biznaga vieja de la Sierra de Jalpan), is a white-woolly Mexican pincushion cactus described by Werdermann in 1929, native to northeastern Mexico, IUCN Near Threatened, CITES Appendix II.

Manchineel

Manchineel (Hippomane mancinella), also called beach apple or manzanilla de la muerte, is a highly toxic Euphorbiaceae tree of Caribbean and Central American coasts; sap, fruit, and even rainwater from its canopy cause blistering dermatitis and poisoning.

Mandarin orange

The mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) is a small citrus tree native to South China, domesticated there for four millennia, whose loose-peeled fruit includes clementines, satsumas, and tangerines.

Mandevilla

Mandevilla (syn. Dipladenia) is a neotropical Apocynaceae genus of about 183 accepted trumpet-flowered vines and shrubs from Mexico to Argentina, grown in full sun above 21°C, with compact dipladenia cultivars and the Suntory Sun Parasol series.

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.

Mandragora officinarum

Mandragora officinarum, commonly called mandrake, is a perennial herb of the nightshade family native to the Mediterranean, used medicinally since antiquity and known for its human-shaped root in folklore.

Mandrake

Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum, Solanaceae), also called satan's apple, is a Mediterranean perennial herb with a human-shaped root containing atropine and scopolamine; used medicinally since 2000 BC and abandoned after volatile anaesthetics appeared.

Mangave

Mangave (×Mangave) is a horticultural group of artificial hybrids between the former genus Manfreda and Agave, coined in 2003; first cultivar 'Macho Mocha' released 2004, most introductions by Hans Hansen at Walters Gardens, now taxonomically folded into Agave.

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.

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.

Mango

Mango (Mangifera indica), a tropical Anacardiaceae fruit tree from southern Asia, called the King of Fruits; Indian and Indochinese cultivar groups, Florida-bred Tommy Atkins, Haden, Keitt, Kent dominate trade, India produces about 45% of world output.

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.

Marantaceae

Marantaceae R.Br., the prayer-plant or arrowroot family, is a pantropical Zingiberales family of rhizomatous herbs (about 530 species, 27-32 genera) with explosive style-movement pollination, including Maranta, Calathea, and Goeppertia ornamentals.

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.

Marattiaceae

Marattiaceae, the only living family of the fern order Marattiales, six tropical eusporangiate genera (Angiopteris, Christensenia, Danaea, Eupodium, Marattia, Ptisana), sister to leptosporangiate ferns, with a rich fossil record including the extinct Psaroniaceae stem group.