Contains a taxonomic revision of Lythraceae for Malesia, i.e. the area covering the countries Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, The Philippines, and Papua New Guinea.
Lythraceae, with in Malesia 11 genera, is a well-defined family with the exception of the morphologically deviating Trapa. The largest native genus is Lagerstroemia with 14 species, followed by the (sub)tropical genera Ammannia (7 species) and Rotala (8 species) and the native genera Lawsonia, Pemphis, and Woodfordia (all with 1 species). The genus Cuphea is represented by 6 introduced species of which some are naturalised. The genera Duabanga and Sonneratia (both formerly Sonneratiaceae), Punica (formerly Punicaceae), and Trapa (formerly Trapaceae) are only shortly discussed as they have been previously treated in Flora Malesiana (see list of revised families).
The introductory part contains treatises on wood anatomy (by P. Baas) and pollen morphology (by R.W.J.M. van der Ham). The genus and species treatments comprise keys, descriptions, drawings, references, synonyms, typifications, distribution, habitat and miscellaneous notes.