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Family: Phyllanthaceae Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Rosids >
Eurosid I > Order: Malpighiales
Fifty-nine genera and 1745 species (pantropical, especially
Malesia), with 11 genera and 68 species native to southern Africa, one
naturalised species and an
additional two genera and three species that are cultivated in the region. Members of
this family were previously placed in the
Euphorbiaceae.
Genera native to southern Africa
List from
Plants
of Southern Africa - an Online Checklist (SANBI).
Andrachne
The 15 species
are native mainly to warmer regions of the northern hemisphere but
Andrachne ovalis
is native to southern Africa. |
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Antidesma
About 200 species, native mainly to warmer parts of the Old World, with four
species in southern Africa. |
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Bridelia About 60 species,
native to Africa, Asia and Australia, with five species native to southern Africa. |
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Cleistanthus About 140
species, native to Africa and India through to Australia.
Cleistanthus polystachus and
Cleistanthus
schlechteri (see
Flora of Zimbabwe) found in subtropical forests of northern KwaZulu-Natal. |
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Flueggea About 14 species,
native to the tropics and east Asia, with two species in southern Africa. |
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Heywoodia One species,
Heywoodia
lucens (Black ebony), native to tropical East Africa, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern
Cape. |
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Hymenocardia About 7-8
species, native mainly to tropical Africa, with two species in southern
Africa - Hymenocardia acida (recorded from Zimbabwe and Mozambique,
see
Flora of Zimbabwe)and
Hymenocardia
ulmoides (see
Flora of Zimbabwe), found in Limpopo Province and KwaZulu-Natal. |
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Lachnostylis The two species
are endemic to the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. |
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Margaritaria
A total of 13
species, native to the tropics, with one species, Margaritaria
discoidea, native to southern
Africa. See
Flora of Zimbabwe. |
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Phyllanthus About 750-800
species, found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, with about
47 species native to southern Africa, one species naturalised and one
species cultivated in the region. |
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Pseudolachnostylis One
species, Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia, native to Africa,
including southern Africa. See
Flora of Zimbabwe. |
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Other genera, cultivated in southern Africa
List from Glen (2002), where they are placed in the
Euphorbiaceae. Each genus has only a single species that is cultivated in the
region.
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Bischofia javanica (Gintoeng)
Native from India to Samoa. |
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Breynia disticha
Native to Polynesia. |
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Publications
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