Ebenopsis is a small genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae (order Fabales, class Magnoliopsida), comprising three accepted species native to Mexico and the southern United States. The genus was described by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose, with the name published in North American Flora, volume 23, in 1928.
The generic name is derived from the Greek ἔβενος (ébenos, "ebony") combined with ὄψις (opsis, "view" or "appearance"), an allusion to the dark, ebony-like wood associated with its best-known member. In the GBIF backbone taxonomy, the names Hoopesia Buckley and Siderocarpos Small are treated as synonyms of Ebenopsis, reflecting earlier, separate generic names later folded into this genus.
The three species recognized in Ebenopsis are Ebenopsis caesalpinioides, Ebenopsis confinis, and Ebenopsis ebano. The most widely known, Ebenopsis ebano — commonly called Texas ebony — occurs in southern Texas in the United States and in eastern Mexico. As a genus within Fabaceae, Ebenopsis belongs to one of the largest and most economically significant flowering-plant families, alongside familiar legumes, beans, and hardwood trees.
Etymology
The name Ebenopsis comes from the Greek ἔβενος (ébenos, "ebony") and ὄψις (opsis, "view"), referencing the ebony-like wood of its species.
Distribution
Species of Ebenopsis are native to Mexico and Texas. Ebenopsis ebano (Texas ebony), the genus's best-known member, is found in southern Texas in the United States and in eastern Mexico.
Taxonomy Notes
Ebenopsis was described by Britton & Rose and published in North American Flora 23: 33 (1928). It belongs to family Fabaceae, order Fabales. The genus names Hoopesia Buckley and Siderocarpos Small are treated as synonyms in the GBIF backbone taxonomy.
