''Spirostachys'' is a
plant genus of the
family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1850. It is native to
Africa.
[Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
/ref>[Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Radcliffe-Smith, A. (2000). World Checklist and Bibliography of Euphorbiaceae (and Pandaceae) 1-4: 1-1622. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.] Zuloaga, F. O., O. Morrone, M. J. Belgrano, C. Marticorena & E. Marchesi. (eds.) 2008. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares del Cono Sur. Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 107(1–3): i–xcvi, 1–3348.
The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ''speiros'' = spiral, ''stachys'' = spike, in allusion to the spiral arrangement of the florets on the flower spike.
;Species[
# '' Spirostachys africana'' Sond. - E + SE + S Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Limpopo, ]Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...
, KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
, Cape Province)
# '' Spirostachys venenifera'' (Pax) Pax - Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania
;formerly included[
moved to other genera ''( Excoecaria Spegazziniophytum )''
# ''Spirostachys madagascariensis'', syn of '' Excoecaria madagascariensis''
# ''Spirostachys patagonica'', syn of '' Spegazziniophytum patagonicum''
;names in Amaranthaceae
The same genus name, ''Spirostachys'', was used twice to name genera in the Amaranthaceae. Thus were created two illegitimate homonyms, unacceptable according to the rules of nomenclature. The species assigned to these genera have been placed in the genera '' Allenrolfea and ]Heterostachys
''Heterostachys'' is a genus of flowering plants in the plant family Amaranthaceae. The two species are shrubby halophytes native to South America and Central America.
Description
The species of ''Heterostachys'' grow as subshrubs or low ...
,'' as follows:[Tropicos, search for name ''Falconeria'']
/ref>
# ''Spirostachys occidentalis'' (S. Watson) S. Watson 1874, now '' Allenrolfea occidentalis'' (S.Watson) Kuntze
# ''Spirostachys olivascens'' Speg. 1902, now '' Heterostachys olivascens'' (Speg.) Molfino
# ''Spirostachys ritteriana'' (Moq.) Ung.-Sternb. 1866, now '' Heterostachys ritteriana'' (Moq.) Ung.-Sternb.
# ''Spirostachys vaginata'' Griseb. 1874, now '' Allenrolfea vaginata'' (Griseb.) Kuntze
# ''Spirostachys vaginata'' Benth. & Hook.f. - unresolved
References
Hippomaneae
Flora of Africa
Euphorbiaceae genera
{{Euphorbiaceae-stub