tropical shrubs or trees

The Malpighiaceae, a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales, comprises approximately 75 genera and 1300 species of the tropics and subtropics. About 80% of the genera and 90% of the species occur in the New World (West Indies and the southernmost United States to Argentina) and the rest in the Old World (Africa, Madagascar, and Indomalaysia to New Caledonia and the Philippines).