A Synopsis of the Neotropical Genus Pentaplaris, with Remarks on Its Systematic Position within Core Malvales

Pentaplaris davidsmithii from Peru and Bolivia and P. huaoranica from Ecuador are described and compared to the only other species previously known in the genus, P. doroteae from Costa Rica. Morphological and palynological characters support the inclusion of Pentaplaris in core Malvales while suggesting that the original assumption that the genus belonged in Tiliaceae-Brownlowieae cannot be maintained. Pentaplaris, which comprises three isolated and evidently rare species, probably belongs to the malvoid-bombacoid alliance, but its position within this clade remains unresolved.