Foetidia is a genus of between 5-18 species of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s in the family Lecythidaceae

Lecythidaceae

The Lecythidaceae comprise a family of about 20 genera and 250-300 species of woody plants native to tropical South America and Madagascar.According to the most recent molecular analysis of Lecythidaceae The Lecythidaceae comprise a family of about 20 genera and 250-300 species of woody plants...

, the sole genus in the subfamily Foetidioideae (sometimes treated in its own family Foetidiaceae). The genus is native to a limited area in eastern Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

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Selected species

• Foetidia africana
• Foetidia asymetrica
• Foetidia clusioides
• Foetidia dracaenoides
• Foetidia mauritiana
• Foetidia obliqua

The wood of Foetidia mauritiana is one of several woods known as Stinkwood

Stinkwood

Stinkwood is the common name for a number of trees or shrubs which have wood with an unpleasant odour, including:*Celtis africana – native to South Africa...

because of its unpleasant smell.

External links

• Foetidia (as Foetidiaceae) in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants.