title: Lasiodiscus
text: # Lasiodiscus
  
  Lasiodiscus, commonly known as red-hair bushes, is a small plant genus in the family Rhamnaceae. It is endemic to Africa and its adjacent islands.
  
  ## Description
  
  The small trees have opposite, often asymmetric leaves. As with Colubrina, the flower ovaries are surrounded by a nectariferous disc that fills the receptacle.
  
  ## Habitat
  
  They regularly occur in the understorey of tropical forests, or alternatively in swamp forest. One species, L. rozeirae, is limited to mountain forest understorey.
  
  ## Relationships
  
  Lasiodiscus is morphologically similar to Colubrina, which occurs in the Neotropics, Asia and Afrotropics, but preliminary molecular analysis failed to group them as nearest relatives.
  
  ## Species
  
  There are 9 accepted species:
  
  * Lasiodiscus chevalieri Hutch. –
  * Lasiodiscus fasciculiflorus Engl. – Sierra Leone to Nigeria, w Cameroon and D.R.C.
  * Lasiodiscus holtzii Engl. – East Africa
  * Lasiodiscus mannii Hook. – central Africa
  * Lasiodiscus marmoratus C.H. Wright – Cameroon
  * Lasiodiscus mildbraedii Engl. – African tropics and locally along east coast to South Africa
  * Lasiodiscus pervillei Baill. – Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion and Comores
  
      L. p. pervillei – widespread in Madagascar
      L. p. ferrugineus (Verdc.) Figueiredo – local and vulnerable in East Africa
  * Lasiodiscus rozeirae A.W. Exell – São Tomé in Gulf of Guinea, vulnerable
  * Lasiodiscus usambarensis Engl. – Usambara Mountains and locally to Zimbabwe
  