Introduction

A widespread neotropical species, ranging from the southern U. S. to subtropical southern South America and throughout the Antilles.

Etymology: The Charites, or Graces, are the personifications of charm and beauty in nature and in human life. They love all things beautiful and bestow talent upon mortals. Together with the Muses they serve as sources of inspiration in poetry and the arts. Originally, they were goddesses of fertility and nature, closely associated with the underworld and the Eleusinian mysteries (Charites).