Citharexylum is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae.[3] It contains shrub and tree species[4] commonly known as fiddlewoods or zitherwoods.[5] They are native to the Americas, ranging from southern Florida and Texas in the United States to Argentina.[2] The highest diversity occurs in Mexico and the Andes.[6] The generic name is derived from the Greek words κιθάρα (kithara), meaning “lyre”, and ξύλον (xylon), meaning “wood,” referring to the use of the wood in the sounding boards of string instruments.[7][8] Several species, especially C. caudatum and C. spinosum, are cultivated as ornamentals.[4]
Species[2]
Citharexylum affine D.Don – from northern Mexico to Nicaragua
Citharexylum alainii Moldenke – Dominican Republic
Citharexylum albicaule Turcz. – Cuba
Citharexylum altamiranum Greenm. – northeastern Mexico
Citharexylum andinum Moldenke – Bolivia, Jujuy Province of Argentina
Citharexylum argutedentatum Moldenke – Peru
Citharexylum berlandieri B.L. Rob. – from Texas to Oaxaca – Berlandier’s fiddlewood, Tamaulipan fiddlewood
Citharexylum bourgeauanum Greenm. – Veracruz, Oaxaca
Citharexylum brachyanthum (A.Gray ex Hemsl.) A.Gray – Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo León – Boxthorn fiddlewood, Mexican fiddlewood
Citharexylum bullatum Moldenke – Colombia
Citharexylum calvum Moldenke – Quintana Roo
Citharexylum caudatum L. – southern Mexico, West Indies, Central America, Colombia, Peru – Juniper berry
Citharexylum chartaceum Moldenke – Peru, Ecuador
