About Neoshirakia japonica (Siebold & Zucc.) Esser
Neoshirakia, commonly called milktree, is a genus of flowering plants in the Euphorbiaceae family that is native to East Asia. This group of plants was first published under the name Shirakia in 1954, but this name was later determined to be illegitimate and unacceptable under the International Code of Nomenclature. The original genus was subsequently split, with its species divided between three separate genera: Neoshirakia, Shirakiopsis, and Triadica. Only one species is currently recognized in the genus Neoshirakia: Neoshirakia japonica, which is commonly known as tallow tree. This species is native to China, Korea, and Japan, including the Nansei-shotō islands. Because the original type species of the illegitimate genus Shirakia was S. japonica, which is now renamed N. japonica, the name Shirakia is now treated as a synonym of Neoshirakia.
