PlantaeDB Logo
Login Sign-up

Genus Mallotus in Family Euphorbiaceae

In botanical taxonomy, a genus (plural genera) is a rank used to group closely related species within a family. In the hierarchy, genus sits below family and above species.

Genera are defined by shared morphological, anatomical, and genetic characteristics (for example, features of flowers, fruits, seeds, or leaves) that indicate a close evolutionary relationship among the species they contain.

Each genus can include one or more species. Examples include Rosa (roses) and Solanum (nightshades, including tomato and eggplant).

Do you wish to read more about plant taxonomy? Click here!

Genus Description

Suggest a correction!

Mallotus (Euphorbiaceae) is a genus of about one hundred species of trees and shrubs found across the paleotropics from tropical Asia to northern Australia and a few species in Africa, occurring in lowland to lower montane rain forests, forest margins, and secondary vegetation. The type species is Croton paniculatus Lam. (lectotypified under Mallotus; Flora of China, 2008). Plants are mostly dioecious or monoecious with a characteristic silvery to rufous indumentum of peltate and stellate hairs; leaves are usually alternate and frequently peltate, entire to shallowly toothed, with conspicuous peltate scales and persistent interpetiolar stipules that often enclose terminal buds. Infloresences are axillary, thyrsiform or paniculate, bearing small unisexual apetalous flowers; male flowers have numerous free stamens, females have three free styles with plumose stigmas. Fruits are 2–4-lobed schizocarps that dry and dehisce to expose small, black seeds with an aril, dispersed by birds and mammals.

Diversity concentrates in South and Southeast Asia, with secondary centers in Malesia and northern Australia, and a few outliers in tropical Africa; many local endemics are known, especially in archipelagos and mountain ranges. Flowers are insect-pollinated with conspicuous nectar in males and abundant pollen, while fruits are consumed by frugivores (Sasaki & Morita, 1992). Wood is light and of limited commercial importance; several species, notably M. paniculatus and M. japonicus, are cultivated as ornamental shade trees for their attractive foliage and silvery indumentum, and some become opportunistic weeds in disturbed sites.

Recent revisions maintain Mallotus as a well-defined lineage within Euphorbiaceae, and a consensus treatment treats Rottlera as a synonym (POWO, 2024; WFO, 2024). Phylogenetic studies place Mallotus as sister to Macaranga and its allies, but recognize both genera as distinct on the basis of floral and indumentum differences (Wurdack et al., 2004; Tokuoka, 2007). No subgeneric segmentation is widely accepted; alternate sectional schemes have been proposed but remain tentative. Conservation concerns focus on habitat loss and taxonomic gaps in poorly surveyed regions, and further floristic and population monitoring are warranted to refine threat assessments.

Pick a Species to see its components: