''Maschalocephalus'' is a genus of plants in the family

Rapateaceae The Rapateaceae are a family of flowering plants. The botanical name has been recognized by most taxonomists. The APG II system of 2003 also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Poales in the clade commelinids, in the monocots. T ...

first described in 1900. As a disjunct, it is the only genus of the family outside of South America, as the genus's only known species is ''Maschalocephalus dinklagei'', native to

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

( Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia,

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

). The genus name ''Maschalocephalus'' combines the Greek μασχάλη, '' wikt:μασχάλη, maschalē'' (" axil") with κεφαλή, ''kephalē'' ("head"). The specific epithet ''dinklagei'' commemorates (1864-1935), a German consul in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

and avid botanical specimens collector.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q16888371 Monotypic Poales genera Rapateaceae Flora of West Tropical Africa