Sphaerostylis
Encyclopedia
Sphaerostylis is a genus
of plant
of the family
Euphorbiaceae
. It comprises 8 species, found in tropical East Africa
, Madagascar
and western Malesia
. Some members have stinging hairs.
& K.Hoffm., though Tragiella sometimes stands alone.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
of the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the Spurge family are a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500 species. Most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti....
. It comprises 8 species, found in tropical East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and western Malesia
Malesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the boundaries of the Indomalaya ecozone and Australasia ecozone, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom.-Floristic province:...
. Some members have stinging hairs.
Taxonomy note
This genus is synonym of Tragiella PaxFerdinand Albin Pax
Ferdinand Albin Pax was a German botanist and entomologist. He specialised in Lepidoptera, Diptera, as well as in spermatophytes, describing several species....
& K.Hoffm., though Tragiella sometimes stands alone.