''Astropanax'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of flowering plants in the family
Araliaceae
The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants commonly called the ginseng family. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely ...
, native to Tropical Africa, Madagascar, and other Indian Ocean islands.
It was resurrected from ''
Schefflera
''Schefflera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae with 13 species native to New Zealand and some Pacific islands.
The genus is named in honor of , physician and botanist of Gdańsk, and later of Warsaw, who contributed plan ...
'' in 2017.
Fossil occurrences of the genus are known from the early Miocene (Aquitanian) Mush Valley plant assemblages of Ethiopia from 21.73 million years ago and based on leaf and leaflet compressions and pollen. ''Astropanax eogetem'' is known from a prehistoric tropical moist or wet forest surrounding a crater lake. Additional potential records of the genus are also known from the late Oligocene and Pliocene of Ethiopia, based on pollen referred to as ‘Schefflera abyssinica – type’ and ‘Schefflera cf. S. abyssinica’.
Species
The following species are accepted:
*''
Astropanax abyssinicus'' – Nigeria and Cameroon, and eastern Africa from Ethiopia to Malawi
*''
Astropanax barteri'' – western and west-central Africa to Angola
*†''
Astropanax eogetem'' - extinct - northwestern Ethiopia.
*''
Astropanax evrardii'' – Democratic Republic of the Congo
*''
Astropanax goetzenii
''Astropanax'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Tropical Africa, Madagascar, and other Indian Ocean islands. It was resurrected from ''Schefflera
''Schefflera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ar ...
'' – eastern Africa from Uganda to Zimbabwe
*''
Astropanax humblotianus'' – central Madagascar
*''
Astropanax kivuensis'' – eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
*''
Astropanax mannii'' – eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Gulf of Guinea Islands
*''
Astropanax monophyllus'' – Madagascar
*''
Astropanax myrianthus'' – Madagascar and Comoro Islands
*''
Astropanax polysciadius'' – Madagascar, Comoro Islands, and eastern Africa from Ethiopia to northern Malawi
*''
Astropanax procumbens'' – Seychelles
*''
Astropanax stolzii'' – Tanzania (Rungwe District)
*''
Astropanax tessmannii'' – Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Democratic Republic of the Congo
*''
Astropanax urostachyus'' – Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Tanzania
*''
Astropanax volkensii'' – Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania
References
Araliaceae
Apiales genera
{{Araliaceae-stub