Origin and History of CINIMANDULA

Description:

CINIMANDULA is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The genus is native to the Americas, where there are about 30 species. Most of the species are found in Mexico and Central America. The genus was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The name is derived from the Latin word cinis (meaning 'ash'), because many of the plants in the genus produce small, ash-colored flowers. The plants in the genus are small shrubs or small trees, typically growing to about 2 m tall. The leaves are usually arranged in opposite pairs, and the flowers are small and white, with a few yellow or orange stamens. The fruit is a small, black, shiny capsule. The plants in the genus are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the emperor moth and the common milkweed leafminer.