Samanea

{{Short description|Genus of legumes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Samanea-saman.jpg | image_caption = ''S. saman'' | taxon = Samanea | authority = (Benth.) Merr. (1916) }}

'''''Samanea''''' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes four species of trees native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Belize to Paraguay, and to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. Habitats include tropical moist evergreen and seasonally-dry deciduous forest, woodland, and wooded grassland.<ref name = powo/> It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae.<ref name="6subfamilies">{{cite journal | author = The Legume Phylogeny Working Group (LPWG). | year = 2017 | title = A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny | journal = Taxon | volume = 66 | issue = 1 | pages = 44–77 | doi = 10.12705/661.3| doi-access = free | hdl = 10568/90658 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> The type species is ''Samanea saman'' from South America.

== Taxonomy == The name Samanea comes from ''saman'' in Spanish derived from ''zamang'' used for ''Samanea saman'',<ref name="The Leguminosae">{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=O. N. |last2=Allen |first2=Ethel K. |author-link2=Ethel K. Allen |title=The Leguminosae, a source book of characteristics, uses, and nodulation |date=1981 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |location=Madison, Wisconsin, USA |isbn=978-0-299-08400-4 |pages=590 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6gUXRNc6sDoC&dq=samanea+zamang&pg=PA590}}</ref> this giant ''S. saman'' tree was seen by Alexander von Humboldt near Maracay, Venezuela in 1799 when he travelled to the Americas from that year to 1804.<ref name="The Leguminosae"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=von Humboldt |first1=Alexander |author-link=Alexander von Humboldt|last2=Bonpland |first2=Aimé |author-link2=Aimé Bonpland |year=1815 |title= Reise in die Aequinoctial-Gegenden des neuen Continents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0YJAAAAQAAJ |volume=3 |location=Stuttgart and Tübingen, Germany |publisher=J.G. Cotta}}</ref>

== Species == ''Plants of the World Online'' lists the following accepted species:<ref name=powo>{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:295968-2 |title=''Samanea'' (Benth.) Merr. |date=2023 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher= Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=19 September 2023}}</ref> * ''Samanea guineensis'' (G.C.C.Gilbert & Boutique) Brenan & Brummitt * ''Samanea inopinata'' (Harms) Barneby & J.W.Grimes * ''Samanea saman'' (Jacq.) Merr. * ''Samanea tubulosa'' (Benth.) Barneby & J.W.Grimes

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

Category:Mimosoideae Category:Fabaceae genera Category:Taxa named by George Bentham