''Thespesia'' 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 14

flowering Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s and

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s in the ''

Hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising List of Hibiscus species, several hundred species that are Native plant, native to warm temperate, Subtropics, subtropical ...

'' family,

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

, although within the family they are more closely related to cotton plants (''

Gossypium ''Gossypium'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Gossypieae of the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae, from which cotton is harvested. It is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World, Old and New Worlds. There are abo ...

''). The genus is distributed from the South Pacific through Asia, Africa, and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Selected species

14 species are currently accepted. *'' Thespesia acutiloba'' (Baker f.) Exell & Mendonça –

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

and KwaZulu Natal *'' Thespesia beatensis'' (Urb.) Fryxell – Beata Island,

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

*'' Thespesia cubensis'' (Britton & P.Wilson) J.B.Hutch. –

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

*'' Thespesia danis'' Oliv. – eastern and southern Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and eastern Tanzania *'' Thespesia fissicalyx'' Borss.Waalk. – eastern and northeastern New Guinea *'' Thespesia garckeana'' F.Hoffm. – Nigeria to Sudan and northern South Africa *'' Thespesia grandiflora'' DC. - Maga –

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

*'' Thespesia gummiflua'' Capuron – northern Madagascar *'' Thespesia mossambicensis'' (Exell & Hillc.) Fryxell – northeastern Mozambique *'' Thespesia multibracteata'' Borss.Waalk. – New Guinea *'' Thespesia patellifera'' Borss.Waalk. – eastern New Guinea *'' Thespesia populnea'' (L.) Sol. ex Corrêa - Portia tree – Pantropical *'' Thespesia populneoides'' (Roxb.) Kostel. – eastern coastal Africa, Madagascar, Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Philippines, Java, New Guinea, and northern Australia *'' Thespesia robusta'' – southeastern Papua New Guinea

References

External links

*
Thespesia populnea
at Australian native hibiscus and hibiscus like species. * Malvaceae genera {{Gossypieae-stub