| The genus Actephila (Phyllanthaceae) is distributed from India in the north-west to Thailand and via Malesia to the Melanesian Islands and Australia in the south-east. Eleven species are recognized of which three are newly described, A. discoidea with long leaf apices and a fleshy nectar discs, A. emarginata with an emarginate leaf base, and A. stipularis with large stipules. Further, A. javanica is synonymized with A. excelsa; and a former synonym or separate variety, A. excelsa var. acuminata, is recognized as distinct species, but had to be synonymized under A. subsessilis. Actephila puberula, not present in Malesia, but often synonymized with A. excelsa, is kept separate because of the hairy ovary and different base of the leaf blades. |
