Reference(s):
Status: this genus has been assessed for the following:
- Species in Fl. Madag: 1 endemic
- Accepted published species: 1 indigenous non-endemic
- Estimated total species: 1 indigenous non-endemic
- Indigenous species endemism: 0%
Additional taxonomic work: required at species level
Species level data entry: complete
Note: Pillans (1942) recognised 3 spp. in Madagascar: one of these, P. mauritiana (also in the Mascarenes, and now referred to as P. nitida) is known from Madagascar by only a single old Chapelier collection. We presume this was an label error and that the sp. is not actually present in Madagascar. Perrier (1950) only recognised a single species (P. emirnensis), which he regarded as endemic to Madagascar and made no mention of the other taxa, while authors working on the African flora later equated this with the African P. tropica. Provisionally we accept these conclusions, but tropical African and Malagasy Phylica are poorly represented in herbaria and clearly a revision of these plants and additional fieldwork is needed to resolve these problems.
Contributed/compiled by: P. B. Phillipson
Updated on: 25 Sep. 2008
