PlantaeDB Logo
Login Sign-up

Genus Flacourtia in Family Salicaceae

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!

Flacourtia (Comm. ex L’Hér.) is a small genus of the Salicaceae, with about 15 species of spinescent shrubs and small trees distributed across tropical Africa, Madagascar, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. The genus belongs to Salicaceae subfamily Flacourtioideae, a lineage formerly recognized as Flacourtiaceae but now included within Salicaceae. The type species is F. ramontchi (L’Hér.) B. B. Ford, a name linked to the accepted F. indica (L.) Kuntze, though historical use has often treated them under earlier epithets. The current circumscription of Flacourtia follows broad delimitation of the Flacourtioideae.

The genus is distinguished by dioecious, small, greenish flowers arranged in axillary spikes or racemes; flowers lack conspicuous petals and often have four or five free sepals and a prominent staminal disk. Leaves are simple, alternate, estipellate, with caducous stipules when present; mature leaves usually bear small pits or domatia in the vein axils on the undersurface. Trees frequently possess axillary spines, and the ovary is superior with parietal placentation and several ovules per locule. Fruits are fleshy drupes with several stones.

Diversity is centered in southeastern Asia, with secondary centers in tropical Africa and Madagascar. Species occupy lowland to montane forests, woodlands, and secondary growth from sea level to about 1,500 m. Several taxa are regionally endemic: F. hildebrandtii (Comoro Islands) and F. seychellarum (Seychelles) are island endemics; African taxa such as F. monticola concentrate in elevated habitats from Tanzania to Angola.

Pollination and dispersal are poorly documented in Flacourtia; small fleshy drupes suggest bird or mammal dispersal, though direct evidence is limited. Chromosome numbers are reported for a few taxa, with n = 11 widely cited for F. indica, but a stable base number has not been robustly established across the genus.

Taxonomically, the genus is placed in Salicaceae/Flacourtioideae in modern treatments and standard checklists (POWO, 2024; WFO, 2024). Earlier phylogenetic work supported the dissolution of Flacourtiaceae into Salicaceae (APG IV, 2016), and recent phylogenomic analyses have reinforced the position of Flacourtioideae within the family (The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group et al., 2018). No major infrageneric taxonomy has been consistently applied, and Flacourtia is broadly accepted as monophyletic, with some close relatives such as Dovyalis sometimes confused in older literature.

Several species have edible fruits and are locally cultivated, notably F. indica and F. jangomas (L.) B. B. Ford; F. inermis (Roxb.) Kurz is occasionally grown as an ornamental. Most others remain wild or minimally utilized.

Conservation varies by region: island endemics such as F. seychellensis and F. hildebrandtii are highly susceptible to habitat loss and introduced species, while mainland taxa face deforestation and fragmentation. Field surveys, genetic assessments, and updated checklists will be essential to prioritize ex situ conservation and refine species delimitation.

Pick a Species to see its components: