Decalobanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, order Solanales. It was described by the Dutch botanist S. J. van Ooststroom, with the name published in the journal Blumea in 1936. The genus is native to Tanzania, the western Indian Ocean islands, and tropical and subtropical Asia extending to the Pacific.
The genus's current circumscription is comparatively recent: most of its accepted species carry combination authorship by A. R. Simões & Staples, with basionyms originally described under other Convolvulaceae genera such as Merremia. This pattern indicates that Decalobanthus was re-established or substantially expanded through a taxonomic revision that reassigned a number of Old World morning-glory-relative species into it.
Like other genera in Convolvulaceae, its members are generally twining or trailing vines. GBIF's taxonomic backbone lists 21 descendant taxa under the genus.
Distribution
Native to Tanzania, the western Indian Ocean, and tropical and subtropical Asia, extending to the Pacific.
Taxonomy Notes
Most accepted species in Decalobanthus bear combination authorship by A. R. Simões & Staples over older basionyms in other Convolvulaceae genera (e.g. Merremia), indicating the genus's current scope results from a relatively recent taxonomic revision. The genus itself was described by Ooststr. in Blumea 2: 99 (1936).
