Balakata

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image =

|display_parents = 3

|taxon = Balakata

|authority = Esser

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms = Sapium sect. Pleurostachya Pax & K.Hoffmann.

}}

Balakata is a genus of trees in the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1999.Esser, Hans-Joachim. 1999. Blumea 44: 154-157 It is native to Southeast Asia, southern China, the Himalayas, and New Guinea.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=19430 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families][http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/Euphorbs/specB/Balakata.htm Balakata.] Malesian Euphorbiaceae Descriptions. Nationaal Herbarium Nederland.Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Radcliffe-Smith, A. (2000). World Checklist and Bibliography of Euphorbiaceae (and Pandaceae) 1-4: 1-1622. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The genus name was inspired by balákat-gúbat ("shoulder-tree"), the Philippine common name for B. luzonica.

Balakata baccata grows up to 26 meters tall, while B. luzonica can reach {{convert|36|m|ft}}. These trees have alternately arranged leaves {{convert|3.5|to|11|cm|in}} long, usually with large basal glands on the undersides. The undersides are also whitish in color in B. baccata, but not in B. luzonica. The former has longer petioles than the latter. The trees are monoecious, with inflorescences containing several male flowers and usually at least one female flower at the base. The fruit is smooth and fleshy. That of B. baccata usually contains two seeds, while the fruit of B. luzonica has a single seed.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=317174 Flora of China Vol. 11 Page 283 浆果乌桕属 jiang guo wu jiu shu Balakata Esser, Blumea. 44: 154. 1999. ]

Both species yield useful wood; B. luzonica wood may have commercial value.

;Species

1. Balakata baccata (Roxb.) Esser - Yunnan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Assam, Bhutan, Andaman & Nicobar, Borneo, Sumatra, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
2. Balakata luzonica (Vidal) Esser - Philippines, Sulawesi, Maluku, New Guinea