Coussapoa is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae, within the order Rosales. It was first described by the French botanist Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet in 1775, in his Histoire des Plantes de la Guiane Françoise. The genus is native to the Neotropics, with a range spanning Mexico, Central America, and southern tropical South America.
According to the GBIF taxonomic backbone, Coussapoa comprises roughly 61 accepted species. Species placed in the genus include Coussapoa angustifolia, C. argentea, C. asperifolia, C. david-smithii, C. purpusii, C. tessmannii, C. tolimensis, and C. trinervia, among many others distributed across its tropical American range. The type species, Coussapoa microcarpa, is cultivated in botanical gardens outside its native range, including collections in the Canary Islands.
Distribution
Coussapoa's native range spans Mexico, Central America, and southern tropical South America.
Taxonomy Notes
The genus was described by Aublet in 1775 (Hist. Pl. Guiane 2: 955) and is placed in the family Urticaceae, order Rosales. GBIF's backbone taxonomy currently recognizes about 61 species in the genus.
