What is "calpurnia"

Calpurnia can refer to:

In ancient Rome:

• Gens Calpurnia, a noble family
  • Calpurnia, third and last wife of Julius Caesar
  • Calpurnia, third and last wife of Pliny the Younger and granddaughter of Calpurnius Fabatus
• Lex Acilia Calpurnia (67 BC), a severe law against political corruption
• Lex Calpurnia (149 BC), a law that established a permanent extortion court

In science:

• Calpurnia (genus), a genus in the family Fabaceae composing of shrubs and other small trees, usually found in southern Africa
• 2542 Calpurnia, an asteroid discovered by E. Bowell on 11 February 1980

Other:

• Calpernia Addams, American transgender author and activist
• Calpurnia, African-American cook and maid for the Finch family in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird
• Calpurnia Virginia Tate, main character in the novel The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Calpurnia was the third and last wife of Julius Caesar. Born in 75 BC, she was the daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, consul in 58 BC, and sister of Lucius Calpurnius Piso (Pontifex), consul in 15 BC.

Calpurnia is a genus of flowering plants within the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises shrubs or small trees in or along the margin of forests in the eastern parts of South Africa. They shed leaves in winter unless in moist areas, where they are evergreen. They make good garden plants because they are easily raised from seed, flower at two years and withstand frost.

The species Calpurnia aurea is also known as Wild Laburnum or Wildegeelkeur (in Afrikaans). The bright yellow flowers have the typical form of the Fabaceae ( pea family). They are borne in racemes and flowering can take place over several months. The flowers are visited by carpenter bees, after which the pollintated flowers turn into thin, straw-colored pods.

The gens Calpurnia was a plebeian family at Rome, which appears in history during the 3rd century BC. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Calpurnius Piso in 180 BC, but from this time their consulships were very frequent, and the family of the Pisones became one of the most illustrious in the Roman state. Two important pieces of Republican legislation, the lex Calpurnia of 149 BC and lex Acilia Calpurnia of 67 BC were passed by members of the gens.