Description:

• Armed or unarmed shrubs or trees
• Leaves alternate, petiolate or subsessile; blade elliptic, ovate or subrotund, entire or toothed; stipules minute, caducous
• Flowers bisexual, in axillary racemes, spikes, fascicles or flowers solitary in axils
• Receptacles usually funnel-shaped
• Sepals 4-6
• Petals 4-6, but not always present, alternating with sepals
• Disc fleshy, with marginal glands
• Stamens many, borne on surface of disc, longer than petals at anthesis; anthers 2-thecous, often apiculate
• Ovary superior, 1-locular, with few ovules on 2-5 parietal placentas; style simple, longish; stigma subcapitate or 2-5-lobed
• Fruit a fleshy berry with several seeds and remains of sepals, petals and stamens at base and style at apex
• Seeds suborbicular; testa leathery; embryo straight; cotyledons flat, elliptic-oblong; endosperm fleshy or somewhat horny
• x = 11 (1 report)

Nomenclature:

• Scolopia Schreb.
  • Schreber: 335 (1789) name conserved
  • Sim: 125 (1907)
  • Gilg: 418 (1925)
  • Wild: 276 (1960)
  • Bamps 39 (1968)
  • Sleumer: 26 (1972)
  • Killick: 63 (1976)
• Xylosma G.Forst.
  • Forster: 72 (1786)
• Phoberos Lour.
  • Loureiro: 317 (1790)
  • Harvey: 67 (1860)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species ± 37, Africa, Madagascar, Comores, Mascarenes, Malaysia and Australia
• Southern Africa: Species 5, in all countries and provinces