Oreocallis

Description

Oreocallis is a South American plant genus in the family Proteaceae. There is only one species, O. grandiflora, which is native to mountainous regions in Peru and Ecuador. Previously, the genus was considered to have several species on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, however the four Australasian species were reclassified in the genus Alloxylon. The genus was originally defined by Robert Brown in 1810 to contain the Australian species now classified elsewhere, while the two recognised South American species were placed in Embothrium at the time. A reclassification by Dutch botanist Hermann Otto Sleumer in 1954 saw these species transferred into Oreocallis. A second species O. mucronata, has been reclassified as conspecific with O. grandiflora. Some recent sources recognize both species.