Spirostachys is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1850.[2][3] It is native to Africa.[1][4] Zuloaga, F. O., O. Morrone, M. J. Belgrano, C. Marticorena & E. Marchesi. (eds.) 2008. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares del Cono Sur. Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 107(1–3): i–xcvi, 1–3348.
The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek speiros = spiral, stachys = spike, in allusion to the spiral arrangement of the florets on the flower spike.
The same genus name, Spirostachys, was used twice to name genera in the Amaranthaceae. Thus were created two illegitimate homonyms, unacceptable according to the rules of nomenclature. The species assigned to these genera have been placed in the genera Allenrolfea and Heterostachys, as follows:[5]