Banara is a genus of flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, placed in the order Malpighiales. The genus was first described by the French botanist Jean Baptiste Christophe Fusée Aublet (authorship abbreviated Aubl.) and comprises approximately 27 accepted species. It was formerly classified in the now-disbanded family Flacourtiaceae, which was subsumed into the expanded Salicaceae following molecular phylogenetic revisions in the early 2000s.
Members of Banara are trees and shrubs native to the Neotropics, distributed from the Caribbean islands and Central America south through South America, with the greatest diversity in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. The genus includes both widespread mainland species such as Banara guianensis and narrow island endemics such as Banara vanderbiltii and Banara portoricensis, both restricted to Puerto Rico.
Etymology
The genus name Banara was coined by Aublet in his 1775 work Histoire des Plantes de la Guiane Françoise, where he described Banara guianensis from French Guiana. The derivation of the name is not recorded in the sources consulted.
Distribution
Banara occurs throughout the Neotropics, from the Caribbean islands (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands) and Central America south through Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. GBIF occurrence records place the highest concentration of specimens in Brazil and Colombia.
Taxonomy Notes
Banara was historically placed in Flacourtiaceae, a broadly circumscribed family that was dissolved following molecular studies; its members were redistributed chiefly into an expanded Salicaceae (order Malpighiales). GBIF recognises approximately 27 accepted species under the nub key 2874154.
