Common name
English: Annatto, Lipstick Tree
German: Achiote, Annato, Orleanbaum, Urucum
Mandarin: 红木 (hong mu)
Portuguese: Urucum
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae (2616)
Phylum: Tracheophyta (2519)
Class: Magnoliopsida (2128)
Order: Malvales (80)
Family: Bixaceae (2)(family description)
Genus: Bixa (1)
Epithet: orellana L. (1)
Synonyms: Bixa acuminata Boj., Bixa americana Poir., Bixa katangensis Delpierre, Bixa odorata Ruiz & Pav. ex G.Don, Bixa orleana Noronha, Bixa platycarpa Ruiz & Pav., Bixa purpurea Sweet, Bixa tinctaria Salisb., Bixa tinctoria Salisb., Orellana americana (Poir.) Kuntze, Orellana orellana (L.) Kuntze
acuminata => long pointed
americana => from America
odorata => sweet-smelling
orellana => in reference to Maranhão, Brazil (formerly Orelhana named after Francisco de Orellana [c. 1500 - c. 1549] a Spanish explorer and conquistador)
platycarpa => flat or broad fruit
purpurea => purple
tinctoria => used for dyeing.
Characteristics
Climate: tropical
Habitat: mesophytic
Habit: shrub, tree
Flower colour: pink, white
External links
Check for Bixa orellana at
World Flora Online, GBIF or IPNI- [199] Bixa orellana - Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)
- [1232] Bixa - Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database
- [1517] Bixa orellana - Flora of China @ efloras.org