''Moltkiopsis'' is a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s belonging to the family

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the Borago, borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 154 genus, genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single famil ...

. The only species is ''Moltkiopsis ciliata''. Its native range is northern Africa to

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

and the Arabian Peninsula. It is found in the regions of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, the Gulf States, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Sudan, Tunisia and the western Sahara. The genus name of ''Moltkiopsis'' is in honour of Joachim Godske Moltke (1746–1818), the

Prime Minister of Denmark The prime minister of Denmark (, , ) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Before the creation of the modern office, the kingdom did not init ...

from 1814 to 1818. He was also father of Prime Minister

Adam Wilhelm Moltke Adam Wilhelm Moltke, 3rd Count of Bregentved (25 August 178515 February 1864) was a Danish nobleman, landowner, civil servant and politician, who in 1848–1852 was the first Prime Minister of Denmark under the new constitutional monarchy outl ...

and the son of Danish diplomat

Adam Gottlob Moltke Count Adam Gottlob von Moltke (10 November 171025 September 1792) was a German-born Danish courtier, politician and diplomat who was a favourite of Frederick V of Denmark, Frederick V of Denmark-Norway. Moltke was born at Walkendorf, Riesenhof ...

. The Latin

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

of ''ciliata'' is derived from ''ciliatus'' meaning fringed. Both genus and species were first described and published in J. Arnold Arbor. Vol.34 on pages 2-3 in 1953.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q9034278, from2=Q17414712 Boraginoideae Boraginaceae genera Monotypic Boraginales genera Plants described in 1953 Flora of North Africa Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa Flora of Western Asia Flora of the Arabian Peninsula