title: Euclea
text: # Euclea
  
  Euclea, from the Greek eukleia meaning "glory and fame", denotes a group of flowering plants in the Ebenaceae or ebony family. They were described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1774. The genus includes evergreen trees and shrubs, native to Africa, the Comoro Islands and Arabia. Several species are used for timber, producing a hard, dark heartwood timber similar to ebony.
  
  ## Species
  
  There are some 16 to 18 species, including:
  
  * Euclea acutifolia E.Mey. ex A.DC. – Cape Province
  * Euclea angolensis Gürke – Angola
  * Euclea asperrima E.Holzh. – Namibia
  * Euclea balfourii Hiern ex Balf.f.
  * Euclea coriacea A.DC. – Lesotho, South Africa
  * Euclea crispa (Thunb.) Gürke – southern Africa
  * Euclea dewinteri Retief – Limpopo
  * Euclea divinorum Hiern – from Ethiopia to KwaZulu-Natal
  * Euclea lancea Thunb. – Cape Province
  * Euclea laurina Hiern ex Balf.f.
  * Euclea natalensis A.DC. – from Somalia to KwaZulu-Natal
  * Euclea neghellensis Cufod. – Ethiopia
  * Euclea polyandra (L.f.) E.Mey. ex Hiern – Cape Province
  * Euclea pseudebenus E.Mey. ex A.DC. – Angola, Namibia, Cape Province
  * Euclea racemosa L. – from Egypt to Cape Province; Comoros, Oman, Yemen
  * Euclea sekhukhuniensis Retief, S.J.Siebert & A.E.van Wyk – Mpumalanga
  * Euclea tomentosa E.Mey. ex A.DC. – Cape Province
  * Euclea undulata Thunb. – from Zimbabwe to KwaZulu-Natal
  