Euclea, from the Greek eukleia meaning "glory and fame", denotes a group of flowering plants in the Ebenaceae or ebony family. They were described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1774. The genus includes evergreen trees and shrubs, native to Africa, the Comoro Islands and Arabia. Several species are used for timber, producing a hard, dark heartwood timber similar to ebony.

Species

There are some 16 to 18 species, including:

• Euclea acutifolia E.Mey. ex A.DC. – Cape Province

• Euclea angolensis Gürke – Angola

• Euclea asperrima E.Holzh. – Namibia

• Euclea balfourii Hiern ex Balf.f.

• Euclea coriacea A.DC. – Lesotho, South Africa

• Euclea crispa (Thunb.) Gürke – southern Africa

• Euclea dewinteri Retief – Limpopo

• Euclea divinorum Hiern – from Ethiopia to KwaZulu-Natal

• Euclea lancea Thunb. – Cape Province

• Euclea laurina Hiern ex Balf.f.

• Euclea natalensis A.DC. – from Somalia to KwaZulu-Natal

• Euclea neghellensis Cufod. – Ethiopia

• Euclea polyandra (L.f.) E.Mey. ex Hiern – Cape Province

• Euclea pseudebenus E.Mey. ex A.DC. – Angola, Namibia, Cape Province

• Euclea racemosa L. – from Egypt to Cape Province; Comoros, Oman, Yemen

• Euclea sekhukhuniensis Retief, S.J.Siebert & A.E.van Wyk – Mpumalanga

• Euclea tomentosa E.Mey. ex A.DC. – Cape Province

• Euclea undulata Thunb. – from Zimbabwe to KwaZulu-Natal

References

External links