Thespesia Explained

Thespesia is a genus of 14 flowering shrubs and trees in the Hibiscus family, Malvaceae, although within the family they are more closely related to cotton plants (Gossypium). The genus is distributed from the South Pacific through Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Selected species

14 species are currently accepted.

• Thespesia acutiloba (Baker f.) Exell & Mendonça – Mozambique and KwaZulu Natal
• Thespesia beatensis (Urb.) Fryxell – Beata Island, Dominican Republic
• Thespesia cubensis (Britton & P.Wilson) J.B.Hutch. – Cuba
• 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
• 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

External links

• • Thespesia populnea at Australian native hibiscus and hibiscus like species.