Trewia | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
Subfamily: | Acalyphoideae |
Tribe: | Acalypheae |
Subtribe: | Rottlerinae |
Genus: | Trewia L. |
Species | |
to be completed |
Trewia is a plant genus of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), comprising 2 species. It is found from the Himalaya to Hainan Island. These species have hard large fruits.
Trewia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the leaf-miner Bucculatrix verax, which feeds exclusively on Trewia nudiflora.
The hard green fruit of Trewia nudiflora, which fall to the ground in large numbers during the monsoon season, are a preferred food of the Indian rhinoceros. The passage of its seeds through the rhino gut enhances its germination rate.
The genus is named after Christoph Jacob Trew (German wiki), a German physician and botanist.