Hoplestigma

Hoplestigma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Boraginales
Family: Hoplestigmataceae
Genus: Hoplestigma
Pierre[1]
Type species
Hoplestigma klaineanum
Pierre
Species

See text.

Hoplestigma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hoplestigmataceae.[2] It is the only genus in the family.[3] It has also been placed in the family Boraginaceae s.l. Its two species are native to Cameroon, Gabon, Ivory Coast and Liberia in western tropical Africa.[1]

Taxonomy

The genus Hoplestigma was established by Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre in 1899. The genus name Hoplestigma is derived from the Greek hople, "a hoof or a cloven hoof" and stigma, "a flower stigma". The botanical name is a reference to the deeply bifid style.[4]

The family placement of the genus has varied. It was traditionally included in Boraginaceae sensu lato,[5] as it was in the APG IV system,[6] and by Plants of the World Online as of December 2025.[1] A study of pollen in 1989 suggested that Hoplestigma might be related to the family Ehretiaceae (= Boraginaceae subfamily Ehretioideae).[7] In a 2014 molecular phylogenetic study based on chloroplast DNA, Hoplestigma formed a strongly supported clade with Coldenia and genera that have been placed in the family Cordiaceae (= Boraginaceae subfamily Cordioideae) and the authors recommended that Hoplestigma and Coldenia be included in Cordiaceae.[8] In 2016, the Boraginales Working Group placed Hoplestigma in its own family Hoplestigmataceae.[9]

Species

As of December 2025, two species were recognized:[1][2]

Both are rare trees of lowland jungle in West and Central Africa.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Hoplestigma Pierre". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  2. ^ a b "Hoplestigma Pierre". World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  3. ^ "Hoplestigmataceae Gilg". World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  4. ^ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. Vol. II. Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-2676-9.
  5. ^ Heywood, Vernon H.; Brummitt, Richard K.; Seberg, Ole & Culham, Alastair (2007). Flowering Plant Families of the World. Ontario, Canada: Firefly Books. ISBN 978-1-55407-206-4.
  6. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2016). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 181 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1111/boj.12385.
  7. ^ Nowicke, Joan W. & Miller, James S. (1989). "Pollen morphology and the relationships of Hoplestigmataceae". Taxon. 38 (1): 12–16. doi:10.2307/1220882. JSTOR 1220882.
  8. ^ Weigend, Maximilian; Luebert, Federico; Gottschling, Marc; Couvreur, Thomas L.P.; Hilger, Hartmut H.; Miller, James S. (2014). "From capsules to nutlets — phylogenetic relationships in the Boraginales". Cladistics. 30 (5): 508–518. doi:10.1111/cla.12061. PMID 34794245. S2CID 11954615.
  9. ^ Luebert, Federico; Cecchi, Lorenzo; Frohlich, Michael W.; Gottschling, Marc; Guilliams, C. Matt; Hasenstab-Lehman, Kristen E.; Hilger, Hartmut H.; Miller, James S.; Mittelbach, Moritz; Nazaire, Mare; Nepi, Massimo; Nocentini, Daniele; Ober, Dietrich; Olmstead, Richard G.; Selvi, Federico; Simpson, Michael G.; Sutorý, Karel; Valdés, Benito; Walden, Genevieve K.; Weigend, Maximilian (24 June 2016). "Boraginales Working Group: Familial classification of the Boraginales". Taxon. 65 (3): 502–522. doi:10.12705/653.5. hdl:11365/993946.
  10. ^ Mabberley, David J. (2008). Mabberley's Plant-Book. Cambridge University Press.