Introduction

Napoleonaea is a small genus with about eight to ten species mainly restricted to west and central Africa and extending into southern Africa (Liben, 1971; Frame and Durou, 2001). The genus was initially described by Palisot de Beauvois in 1804 and dedicated to Napoleon Buonaparte (Thompson, 1922; Liben, 1971), but became often misspelled as Napoleona in later publications.

Thompson (1922) reviewed the early classification of the genus. A close relationship with Myrtaceae was put forward by Bentham and Hooker (1867) on the belief that the corona of Napoleonaea represents sterile outer stamens, as found in some Myrtaceae and in the genera now placed in Lecythidaceae (e.g. Grias, Couroupita, Lecythis). The interpretation of the corolla is central in the discussion of affinities, as most authors accepted a Myrtalean affinity of Napoleonaea and Lecythidaceae (e.g. Masters, 1869; Baillon, 1875; Thompson, 1922, 1927). Later authors removed Lecythidaceae from Myrtales because of important morphological distinctions (see Dahlgren and Thorne, 1984). Recent molecular phylogenies have placed Lecythidaceae (including Napoleonaea) in Ericales (e.g. Morton et al., 1997; Schönenberger et al., 2005; APG, 2009).