''Neoshirakia'', known as milktree, 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 plants in the

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

, native to east

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. It is part of a group first described in 1954 with the name ''Shirakia'', but this proved to be an illegitimate name, unacceptable under the Code of Nomenclature. The genus was later divided, with its species distributed amongst three genera: ''Neoshirakia'', ''

Shirakiopsis ''Shirakiopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1999. There are six known species, 3 native to tropical Asia and 3 to tropical Africa.Triadica ''Triadica'' is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1790. It is native to eastern southeastern, and southern Asia. Species included are: # '' Triadica cochinchinensis'' Lour. - China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, ...

''. ''Neoshirakia'' contains only one known species, ''Neoshirakia japonica'', known as tallow tree, native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(including Nansei-shotō). The name ''Shirakia'' thus became a synonym of ''Neoshirakia'' because ''S. japonica'' was the type species for that genus, the species now renamed ''N. japonica.'' Esser, Hans-Joachim. 1999. Blumea 44: 184

References

Hippomaneae Flora of China Flora of Eastern Asia Monotypic Euphorbiaceae genera {{Euphorbiaceae-stub