Alstonia
genus of plants
Alstonia is a widespread genus of evergreen trees and shrubs, of the family Apocynaceae. It was named by Robert Brown in 1811, after Charles Alston (1685–1760), professor of botany at Edinburgh from 1716 to 1760.
The type species Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br. was originally named Echites scholaris by Linnaeus in 1767.
Description
Alstonia consists of about 40–60 species (according to different authors) native to tropical and subtropical Africa, Central America, Southeast Asia, Polynesia and Australia, with most species in the Malesian region.
These trees can grow very large, such as Alstonia pneumatophora, recorded with a height of 60 m and a diameter of more than 2 m. Alstonia longifolia is the only species growing in Central America (mainly shrubs, but also trees 20 m high).
The leathery, sessile, simple leaves are elliptical, ovate, linear or lanceolate and wedge-shaped at the base. The leaf blade is dorsiventral, medium-sized to large and disposed oppositely or in a whorl and with entire margin. The leaf venation is pinnate, with numerous veins ending in a marginal vein.
The public source identifies “Alstonia” as genus of plants. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Alstonia, genus and plants.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Alstonia”, the useful work is to connect “genus of plants” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2475725. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1811, 1685, 1760 and 1716.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Alstonia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.