| Lepidobotrys | |
|---|---|
|   | |
| Lepidobotrys staudtii, from Vegetation der Erde (1915) | |
| Scientific classification   | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae | 
| Clade: | Tracheophytes | 
| Clade: | Angiosperms | 
| Clade: | Eudicots | 
| Clade: | Rosids | 
| Order: | Celastrales | 
| Family: | Lepidobotryaceae | 
| Genus: | Lepidobotrys Engl. | 
| Species: | L. staudtii | 
| Binomial name | |
| Lepidobotrys staudtii Engl. | |
Lepidobotrys is a flowering plant genus in the family Lepidobotryaceae . It contains only one species, Lepidobotrys staudtii. [2] L. staudtii is a small African tree, ranging from Cameroon eastward to Ethiopia. [3]
The tannin 3,4,5-tri-O-galloylquinic acid is found in L. staudtii. [4]
Lepidobotrys staudtii was named and described by Adolf Engler in 1902 and placed by him in the family Linaceae. [5] It was regarded as somewhat of an anomaly and during the 20th century, was assigned to various families by different authors. Hans G. Hallier [6] and Reinhard Knuth [7] put it in Oxalidaceae. In 1950, Jean Leonard became the first to put it in a family by itself, which he thought to be close to Linaceae. [8] Arthur Cronquist, agreeing with Hallier and Knuth, put it in Oxalidaceae. [9] Adding to the confusion was the lack of any strong basis for placing these and related families into orders.
Lepidobotrys is derived from Greek, meaning 'scale-cluster'. The name is in reference to the cone-like arrangement of its bracts, which extend under the flowers. [10]