''Eriolaena'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s. Traditionally included in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Sterculiaceae Sterculiaceae was a family of flowering plant based on the genus ''Sterculia''. Genera formerly included in Sterculiaceae are now placed in the family Malvaceae, in the subfamilies: Byttnerioideae, Dombeyoideae, Helicteroideae and Sterculioideae. A ...

, it is included now in the recently expanded

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

. The genus is distributed in Asia, from southern China through Indochina to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, and in coastal Mozambique."''Eriolaena'' DC.". ''Plants of the World Online'', Kew Science. Accessed 24 August 2021

/ref>''Eriolaena''.
Flora of China. eFloras.Dorr LJ, Wurdack KJ (2018
A new disjunct species of Eriolaena (Malvaceae, Dombeyoideae) from Continental Africa
These plants are trees or shrubs. They usually have single or paired white or yellow flowers, but some species have larger

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

s. The fruit is a hard capsule with winged seeds. The winged seeds make the genus distinctive in its family.The ''Eriolaena'' Page.
Malvaceae.info. Species include:''Eriolaena''.
The Plant List. * '' Eriolaena affinis'' * '' Eriolaena candollei'' Wall. India and Bangladesh, Indochina, southern China * '' Eriolaena glabrescens'' * '' Eriolaena hookeriana'' Wight & Arn. India and Sri Lanka * '' Eriolaena kwangsiensis'' * '' Eriolaena lushingtonii'' Dunn Eastern Ghats (southern India) * '' Eriolaena quinquelocularis'' (Wight & Arn.) Drury India, Yunnan (China) * '' Eriolaena rulkensii'' Dorr northern Mozambique * '' Eriolaena spectabilis'' (DC.) Planch. ex Mast.Himalayas (India, Nepal, Bhutan), northern Myanmar, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi (China) * '' Eriolaena stocksii'' * '' Eriolaena wallichii'' DC. Nepal, Arunachal Pradesh (India), northern Myanmar, Yunnan (China)

References

Malvaceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Indomalayan realm flora Flora of Mozambique {{Malvaceae-stub