Epicharis (plant) explained

Epicharis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Meliaceae. It includes seven species which range from Indochina to south-central China, Taiwan, Malesia, Papuasia, Queensland, and Fiji.

The genus was first named by Carl Ludwig Blume in 1825.^[1] Most of the species currently accepted were, until recently, included in genus Dysoxylum. A genetic study published in 2021 found that Dysoxylum is polyphyletic, and Epicharis was revived and re-circumscribed.

The genus is named for Epicharis (d. 65 CE), a Roman woman who was a leader in the Pisonian conspiracy, and who was tortured and committed suicide rather than betray her co-conspirators.

Species

Plants of the World Online includes the following accepted species:

1. Epicharis alata – New Guinea
2. Epicharis brevipanicula – east-central New Guinea
3. Epicharis cumingiana – Taiwan, Philippines, Maluku Islands, Sulawesi, and Lesser Sunda Islands
4. Epicharis cuneata – Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines
5. Epicharis densiflora – type species - southern Yunnan (south-Central China), Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, and the Lesser Sunda Islands
6. Epicharis gillespieana – Fiji
7. Epicharis parasitica – Taiwan (Lan Yü), Malesia, Papuasia, and Queensland

Notes and References

1. Blume CL (1825) Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind.: 166.