Tobira Adanson, nom. rej.

Trees, shrubs, or sometimes subshrubs, evergreen, pubescent or glabrous. Leavs alternate, appearing opposite or pseudoverticillate, usually clustered at branchlet apex; leaf blade leathery or sometimes membranous, margin entire, undulate-dentate, or rugose. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, umbellate, corymbose, paniculate, or a solitary flower. Flowers bisexual, rarely polygamous. Sepals 5, free, usually short and small. Petals 5, free or partly connate. Stamens 5; filament glabrous; anther dorsifixed, ± sagittate, longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary superior, usually stipitate, of 2 or 3(–5)carpels, 1-loculed or incompletely 2–5-loculed, pubescent or glabrous; ovules usually numerous, sometimes 1–4; placentas parietal and equal in number to carpels, or basilar owing to reduction of ovules. Style short, simple or 2–5-lobed, usually persistent. Capsule ellipsoid or globose, sometimes compressed, dehiscing by 2–5 valves; pericarp woody or leathery, usually with horizontal striae adaxially. Seeds usually surrounded by glutinous or greasy material.

Pittosporopsis nervosa Gagnepain (Notul. Syst. (Paris) 13: 136. 1947) was transferred to Pittosporum by Gowda, as P. nervosum (Gagnepain) Gowda (J. Arnold Arbor. 32: 327. 1951). As well as the type specimen from Vietnam, Poilane 25530 (holotype, P), Gowda cited a collection from S Yunnan (Simao Xian), Henry 11778B (NY). However, Chang and Yan (Acta Sci. Nat. Univ. Sunyatseni 1974(2): 43. 1974) demonstrated that Gagnepain’s protologue, as well as the collection Henry 11778 (IBSC), also from Simao Xian, clearly belongs to Pittosporopsis in the Icacinaceae.

Pittosporum yunnanense Franchet (Bull. Soc. Bot. France 33: 415. 1886) is Osmanthus yunnanensis (Franchet) P. S. Green in the Oleaceae (see Fl. China 15: 291. 1996).

About 150 species: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sikkim, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; tropical and S Africa (including Madagascar), SW Asia (Yemen), Atlantic Islands (Madeira), Australia, Indian Ocean Islands (Mascarenes, Seychelles), Pacific Islands; 46 species (33 endemic) in China.