Bhesa is a small genus of woody plants — trees and shrubs — belonging to the family Centroplacaceae, placed within the order Malpighiales. The genus comprises roughly eight species distributed across a tropical arc stretching from southern China and the Indian subcontinent (including the Andaman Islands and Sri Lanka) through Malesia to New Guinea.
Bhesa was historically classified in the spindle-tree family Celastraceae, a placement that reflected its superficial morphological similarity to other members of that large family. A molecular phylogenetic study subsequently transferred the genus to Centroplacaceae, a small family in Malpighiales now recognised as its correct position. The reclassification illustrates how molecular data have repeatedly reshuffled genera previously grouped by vegetative and floral features alone.
Representative species include Bhesa indica, Bhesa paniculata, and Bhesa robusta, whose epithets reflect their distributions across the Indian region and their growth habits. Species in the genus typically occur in tropical forest habitats across South and Southeast Asia.
Taxonomy Notes
Bhesa was formerly placed in Celastraceae based on morphological grounds. A molecular phylogenetic study reassigned the genus to Centroplacaceae, within the order Malpighiales. GBIF recognises approximately seven descendants under the genus.
Distribution
The genus is native to a tropical belt from southern China and the Indian subcontinent — including the Andaman Islands and Sri Lanka — extending through Malesia (Borneo, the Philippines, and surrounding islands) to New Guinea.
