Mallotus is a genus of the spurge family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1790. Two species (M. oppositifolius and M. subulatus) are found in tropical Africa and Madagascar. All the other species are found in East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, eastern Australia, and certain islands of the western Pacific.
Mallotus macrofossils have been recovered from the late Zanclean stage of Pliocene sites in Pocapaglia, Italy.
Mallotus species are used as food plants by the larvae ...