Epicharis is a genus of flowering plants in the mahogany family Meliaceae, comprising seven currently accepted species. Its distribution runs from Indochina and south-central China (Yunnan) through Taiwan, Malesia, and Papuasia to Queensland, Australia, and Fiji. The genus was first described by the Dutch botanist Carl Ludwig Blume in 1825, with Epicharis densiflora as its type species.
For decades, most of the species now placed in Epicharis were instead classified in the related genus Dysoxylum. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2021 found that Dysoxylum, as traditionally circumscribed, is polyphyletic (its members do not share a single common ancestor to the exclusion of others), and as a result Epicharis was revived and re-circumscribed to hold a distinct lineage within Meliaceae. GBIF's taxonomic backbone likewise accepts Epicharis as a genus within Plantae, family Meliaceae, though its species count in that database (four) has not yet caught up with the seven species recognized by Plants of the World Online following the 2021 revision.
The seven species and their ranges are: E. alata and E. brevipanicula (New Guinea); E. cumingiana (Taiwan, the Philippines, the Maluku Islands, Sulawesi, and the Lesser Sunda Islands); E. cuneata (Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines); E. densiflora, the type species (southern Yunnan, Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, and the Lesser Sunda Islands); E. gillespieana (Fiji); and E. parasitica (Lan Yü island off Taiwan, Malesia, Papuasia, and Queensland).
The genus name honors Epicharis, a Roman woman who died in 65 CE. She was a leader in the Pisonian conspiracy against Emperor Nero and, when captured, was tortured but took her own life rather than betray her fellow conspirators.
Etymology
The genus is named for Epicharis (d. 65 CE), a Roman woman who was a leader in the Pisonian conspiracy against Emperor Nero. When captured, she was tortured but took her own life rather than betray her fellow conspirators.
Distribution
Epicharis ranges from Indochina and south-central China (Yunnan) through Taiwan, Malesia, and Papuasia to Queensland, Australia, and Fiji. Individual species are distributed across New Guinea, the Philippines, the Maluku Islands, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Myanmar, and Thailand.
Taxonomy Notes
Epicharis was first described by Carl Ludwig Blume in 1825, with E. densiflora as the type species. Most currently accepted species were, until recently, classified under the related genus Dysoxylum; a genetic study published in 2021 found Dysoxylum to be polyphyletic, leading to Epicharis being revived and re-circumscribed. Plants of the World Online now accepts seven species in the genus, while GBIF's taxonomic backbone (which places the genus in Plantae, family Meliaceae) currently lists only four descendant species — a gap that likely reflects the recent revision not yet being fully propagated to GBIF.
