Castela

{{Short description|Genus of plants}}

{{Other uses|Castela (disambiguation)}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Castela_emoryi.jpg

|image_caption = Castela emoryi

|taxon = Castela

|authority = Turp.

|subdivision_ranks = Species

|subdivision = 17 - See text

|synonyms = Holacantha A.Gray

Neocastela Small

|synonyms_ref = {{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?2158 |title=Genus: Castela Turpin |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=2007-10-05 |access-date=2010-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008000821/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?2158 |archive-date=2012-10-08 |url-status=dead }}

}}

Castela is a genus of thorny shrubs and small trees in the family Simaroubaceae. Members of the genus are native to the Americas, especially the tropical regions. The generic name honours the French naturalist René Richard Louis Castel. Castela is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.{{cite thesis|title= Evolutionary history of Simaroubaceae (Sapindales): Systematics, biogeography and diversification|last=Clayton|first=Joshua William|publisher= University of Florida|date=2008|type=PhD|url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0017000/00001}}