Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 25, 2026

Chaetocarpus

Chaetocarpus is a genus of plants in the family Peraceae, formerly Euphorbiaceae, erected as a genus in 1854. Species of the genus Chaetocarpus grow as trees or shrubs. They are native to the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Some species are endangered.SpeciesChaetocarpus acutifolius (Britton & P.Wilson) Borhidi – Sierra de Moa in Cuba Chaetocarpus africanus Pax – C Africa Chaetocarpus castanocarpus (Roxb.) Thwaites – SE Asia, Yunnan, Assam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka Chaetocarpus cordifolius (Urb.) Borhidi – Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica Chaetocarpus coriaceus Thwaites – Sri Lanka Chaetocarpus cubensis Fawc. & Rendle – Cuba Chaetocarpus echinocarpus (Baill.) Ducke – Bolivia, Brazil Chaetocarpus ferrugineus Philcox – Sri Lanka Chaetocarpus gabonensis Breteler – Gabon Chaetocarpus globosus (Sw.) Fawc. & Rendle – Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Rep. Chaetocarpus myrsinites Baill. – Bolivia, Brazil Chaetocarpus parvifolius Borhidi – Cuba Chaetocarpus pearcei Rusby – Bolivia Chaetocarpus pubescens (Thwaites) Hook.f. – Sri Lanka Chaetocarpus rabaraba Capuron – Madagascar Chaetocarpus schomburgkianus (Kuntze) Pax & K.Hoffm. – Colombia, Venezuela, 3 Guianas, NW Brazilmember of homonymic genus, synonym of PouteriaChaetocarpus pouteria J.F.Gmel, synonym of Pouteria guianensis Aubl. (Sapotaceae)

Last revised
Jul 25, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
313 w
Citations
8
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Chaetocarpus
Chaetocarpus echinocarpus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Peraceae
Genus: Chaetocarpus
Thwaites 1854, conserved name, not Schreb. 1789 (Sapotaceae)
Type species
Chaetocarpus pungens
Synonyms1

Chaetocarpus is a genus of plants in the family Peraceae, formerly Euphorbiaceae, erected as a genus in 1854.23 Species of the genus Chaetocarpus grow as trees or shrubs. They are native to the Americas, Africa,4 and Asia.51 Some species are endangered.6

Species1
  • Chaetocarpus acutifolius (Britton & P.Wilson) Borhidi – Sierra de Moa in Cuba
  • Chaetocarpus africanus Pax – C Africa
  • Chaetocarpus castanocarpus (Roxb.) Thwaites – SE Asia, Yunnan, Assam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
  • Chaetocarpus cordifolius (Urb.) Borhidi – Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica
  • Chaetocarpus coriaceus Thwaites – Sri Lanka
  • Chaetocarpus cubensis Fawc. & Rendle – Cuba
  • Chaetocarpus echinocarpus (Baill.) Ducke – Bolivia, Brazil
  • Chaetocarpus ferrugineus Philcox – Sri Lanka
  • Chaetocarpus gabonensis Breteler – Gabon
  • Chaetocarpus globosus (Sw.) Fawc. & Rendle – Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Rep.
  • Chaetocarpus myrsinites Baill. – Bolivia, Brazil
  • Chaetocarpus parvifolius Borhidi – Cuba
  • Chaetocarpus pearcei Rusby – Bolivia
  • Chaetocarpus pubescens (Thwaites) Hook.f. – Sri Lanka
  • Chaetocarpus rabaraba Capuron – Madagascar
  • Chaetocarpus schomburgkianus (Kuntze) Pax & K.Hoffm. – Colombia, Venezuela, 3 Guianas, NW Brazil
member of homonymic genus, synonym of Pouteria
  • Chaetocarpus pouteria J.F.Gmel, synonym of Pouteria guianensis Aubl. (Sapotaceae)
References

References

  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Thwaites, George Henry Kendrick. 1854. Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany 6: 300-301, pl. 10a description in Latin, habitat info and commentary in English
  3. Tropicos, genus Chaetocarpus
  4. Breteler, F. J. (2002). Novitates Gabonenses 46. A new Chaetocarpus (Euphorbiaceae) from Gabon. Archived 22 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine Adansonia 24(2) 221-27.
  5. Chaetocarpus. Flora of China.
  6. World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. Chaetocarpus pubescens. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. Retrieved 8 May 2013.