7978.000 Sclerochiton Harv.

Description of the genus

Trees or small subshrubs. Inflorescence terminal, spicate. Bracts ovate or 0; bracteoles 2. Calyx actinomorphic, 5-lobed. Corolla 1-lipped; lobes 5; tube shorter than the lobes. Fertile stamens 4, 1-thecous. Pollen prolate. Capsule woody.

Derivation of name: from the Greek skleros, meaning hard and chiton, covering, referring to the woody casing of its fruiting capsule.

Worldwide: 12 species in tropical and South Africa.

Zambia: 2 taxa.

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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
nitidus (S.Moore) C.B.Clarke W
vogelii (Nees) T. Anderson subsp. congolanus (De Willd.) VollesenN

Other sources of information about Sclerochiton:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Sclerochiton
Flora of Burundi: Sclerochiton
Flora of the DRC: Sclerochiton
Flora of Malawi: Sclerochiton
Flora of Mozambique: Sclerochiton
Flora of Rwanda: Sclerochiton
Flora of Zimbabwe: Sclerochiton

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Sclerochiton
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Sclerochiton
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Sclerochiton
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Sclerochiton
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Sclerochiton
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Sclerochiton
JSTOR Plant Science: Sclerochiton
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Sclerochiton
Plants of the World Online: Sclerochiton
Tropicos: Sclerochiton
Wikipedia: Sclerochiton

Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Nicholas Wightman, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-25

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wightman, N., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2025). Flora of Zambia: Genus page: Sclerochiton.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1342, retrieved 5 December 2025

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