''Lelya'' is a
monotypic genus of
flowering plants belonging to the family
Rubiaceae. It only contains one known species, Lelya osteocarpa
Bremek.
Its native range is
Tropical Africa. It is found in Angola, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia and Zaïre.
The genus name of ''Lelya'' is in honour of Hugh Vandervaes Lely (1891–1947), an English botanist and forester in Nigeria. The Latin
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
of ''osteocarpa'' is derived from 2 words, ''osteo'' from the Greek word meaning bone and also ''carpa'' is derived from ''carpus'' meaning fruit.
Both genus and species were first described and published in Verh. Kon. Ned. Akad. Wetensch., Afd. Natuurk., Sect. 2, Vol.48 (Issue 2) on page 181 in 1952.
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q9021289, from2=Q15469801
Rubiaceae
Rubiaceae genera
Plants described in 1952
Flora of South Tropical Africa
Flora of East Tropical Africa