Prockia


Prockia is a genus of flowering plants in the willow family, Salicaceae. It consists of approximately six species of shrubs and small trees native to the West Indies, Mexico, Central America, and South America. Its type species, Prockia crucis, is highly polymorphic and has a broad distribution, from Mexico and the West Indies to Uruguay and northern Argentina.
Historically, Prockia was characterized by having pseudo-axile placentation and 3-merous flowers and lacking nectaries. However, discoveries of new species have confounded a simple morphological diagnosis of the genus, as P. pentamera has 5-merous flowers, and P. oaxacana and P. krusei are polygamodioecious or androdioecious and have more typical parietal placentation. Formerly placed in the heterogeneous family Flacourtiaceae, Prockia is now classified in tribe Prockieae of Salicaceae, along with close relatives Banara, Hasseltiopsis, Pineda, and Neosprucea.
Prockia crucis is sometimes confused with Pineda ovata in the high elevations of Bolivia.

List of species