4299.000 Phyllanthus L.

Description of the genus

Monoecious or dioecious herbs, shrubs or trees. Leaves often of two types: scale-like cataphylls and foliage leaves. Foliage leaves alternate, often distichous, stipulate, simple, usually entire. Flowers small, axillary, the males usually in pairs or in fascicles in the axils of the lower half of the flowering shoots (which often resemble pinnate leaves), the females usually solitary in the upper axils. Male flowers: pedicels often capillary, sepals (4-)5-6, ± equal, imbricate; petals 0; disk glands (4-)5-6; stamens 2-6; pistillode 0. Female flowers: pedicels more robust than in the male flowers; sepals as for males but often larger; petals 0; disk flat or cup-shaped, annular and entire or variously toothed, rarely composed of separate glands; ovary usually 3(-many)-locular; ovules 2 per loculus; styles 3, rarely more. Fruit 3(-many)-locular, dry and dehiscent or fleshy and ± indehiscent. Seeds 2 per loculus, without a fleshy, outer coating.

Worldwide: c.600 species in tropical and warm regions

Botswana: 16 taxa.

No image yet

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
angolensis Müll.Arg.
asperulatus Hutch.SE
fraternus G.L. WebsterN,SE
gillettianus Jean F. Brunel ex Radcl.-Sm.SE
incurvus Thunb.N,SW?
maderaspatensis L.N,SW,SEDescription, Image
mendesii Jean F. Brunel ex Radcl.-Sm.N,SW
myrtaceus Sond.Description, Image
nummulariifolius Poir. var. nummulariifolius Image
nummulariifolius Poir.[Agg]Description, Image
omahakensis Dinter & PaxN,SW
parvulus Sond. var. parvulus N,SW,SE
parvulus Sond. var. garipensis (E. Mey. ex Drège) Radcl.-Sm.
pentandrus Schumach. & Thonn.NDescription, Image
reticulatus Poir. var. reticulatus NDescription, Image
reticulatus Poir.[Agg]N

Other sources of information about Phyllanthus:

Our websites:

Flora of Caprivi: Phyllanthus
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Phyllanthus
Flora of Malawi: Phyllanthus
Flora of Mozambique: Phyllanthus
Flora of Zambia: Phyllanthus
Flora of Zimbabwe: Phyllanthus
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Phyllanthus

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Phyllanthus
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Phyllanthus
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Phyllanthus
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Phyllanthus
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Phyllanthus
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Phyllanthus
JSTOR Plant Science: Phyllanthus
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Phyllanthus
Plants of the World Online: Phyllanthus
Tropicos: Phyllanthus
Wikipedia: Phyllanthus

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Botswana: Genus page: Phyllanthus.
https://www.botswanaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=833, retrieved 29 March 2024

Site software last modified: 12 October 2020 10:40pm
Terms of use