What is "hoplestigma"

Hoplestigma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hoplestigmataceae. Many botanists do not recognize this family and place Hoplestigma in Boraginaceae sensu lato or in Cordiaceae.

Hoplestigma has two species. Both are rare trees of lowland jungle in West and Central Africa.

One study of pollen suggested that Hoplestigma might be related to the family Ehretiaceae. In a comparison of chloroplast DNA sequences in 2014, Hoplestigma formed a strongly supported clade with Coldenia and genera that have always been placed in Cordiaceae. The authors of that study recommended that Hoplestigma and Coldenia be included in Cordiaceae.

The genus name Hoplestigma is derived from the Greek hople, "a hoof or a cloven hoof" and stigma, "a flower stigma". The botanical name is a reference to the deeply bifid style.