Eriolaena
Eriolaena is a genus of flowering plants. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included now in the recently expanded Malvaceae. The genus is distributed in Asia and eastern Africa, from southern China through Indochina to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and coastal Mozambique.
These plants are trees or shrubs. They usually have single or paired white or yellow flowers, but some species have larger inflorescences. The fruit is a hard capsule with winged seeds. The winged seeds make the genus distinctive in its family.
The former Madagascan genera Helmiopsiella and Helmiopsis are now considered synonyms of Eriolaena. These genera were named in honour of C. Helm, German clergyman in Berlin and amateur botanist.
Species
27 species are currently accepted.Eriolaena barnettiae – MadagascarEriolaena bernieri – northern MadagascarEriolaena boivinii – northwestern MadagascarEriolaena calcicola – northwestern MadagascarEriolaena candollei Wall. – India and Bangladesh, Indochina, southern ChinaEriolaena cheekii – MadagascarEriolaena ctenostegia – western MadagascarEriolaena glaberrima – northern MadagascarEriolaena hily – southwestern and southern MadagascarEriolaena hookeriana Wight & Arn. – India and Sri LankaEriolaena leandrii – MadagascarEriolaena linearifolia – northern MadagascarEriolaena lushingtonii Dunn – Eastern Ghats Eriolaena madagascariensis – MadagascarEriolaena margaritae – MadagascarEriolaena parvifolia – southwestern MadagascarEriolaena poissonii – northwestern MadagascarEriolaena polyandra – northern MadagascarEriolaena pseudopopulus – northern MadagascarEriolaena quinquelocularis Drury – India and Yunnan Eriolaena richardii – northern MadagascarEriolaena rigida – MadagascarEriolaena rulkensii Dorr – northern MozambiqueEriolaena spectabilis Planch. ex Mast. – Himalayas, northern Myanmar, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi Eriolaena sphaerocarpa – northern MadagascarEriolaena stocksii – western and northeastern IndiaEriolaena wallichii DC. – Nepal, Arunachal Pradesh, northern Myanmar, Yunnan