Lasiodiscus is a small plant genus in the family Rhamnaceae

Rhamnaceae

Rhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs and some vines.The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species. The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions...

, endemic to Africa and its adjacent islands. The small trees have opposite, often asymmetric leaves. They regularly occur in the understorey of tropical forests, or alternatively in swamp forest. One species is limited to mountain forest understorey. Lasiodiscus is morphologically similar to Colubrina

Colubrina

Colubrina is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include nakedwood, snakewood, greenheart and hogplum...

but preliminary molecular analysis failed to group them as nearest relatives.

There are 9 species:

• Lasiodiscus chevalieri Hutch.
• Lasiodiscus fasciculiflorus Engl.
• Lasiodiscus holtzii Engl.
• Lasiodiscus mannii Hook. (central Africa)
• Lasiodiscus marmoratus C.H. Wright
• Lasiodiscus mildbraedii
  Lasiodiscus mildbraedii
  Lasiodiscus mildbraedii is small tree in the family Rhamnaceae. It occurs locally along the African east coast from South Africa northwards and in the African tropics. It is sometimes a dominant component of tropical forest understorey. Groups of small pale flowers are carried on long stalks in...
  
  Engl. (African tropics, locally along African east coast from South Africa
  South Africa
  The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
  
  )
• Lasiodiscus pervillei Baill. (Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion and Comores)

L. p. pervillei (widespread in Madagascar)

L. p. ferrugineus (Verdc.) (local in east Africa, Vulnerable)

• Lasiodiscus rozeirae
  Lasiodiscus rozeirae
  Lasiodiscus rozeirae is a small tree in the family Rhamnaceae. It was discovered in 1954 in south-eastern São Tomé island in the Gulf of Guinea by A. Rozeira. No additional material has been obtained since, but remaining suitable habitat appears extensive.-References:* Figueiredo, E. 1994....
  
  A.W. Exell (São Tomé, Gulf of Guinea, Vulnerable)
• Lasiodiscus usambarensis Engl. (Usambara mountains, locally to Zimbabwe)

External references

• Flora of Zimbabwe
• Madagascar Catalogue
• Description of L. pervillei

Note: The Lasiodiscidae belongs to the Foraminifera

Foraminifera

The Foraminifera , or forams for short, are a large group of amoeboid protists which are among the commonest plankton species. They have reticulating pseudopods, fine strands of cytoplasm that branch and merge to form a dynamic net...

and Reichel (1945) described the genus Lasiodiscus.