Five species are here recognized in Wellstedia: W. socotrana on Socotra, W. somalensis sp. nov. and W. laciniata sp. nov. in Somalia, W. filtuensis in Ethiopia, and W. dinteri in Namibia and the adjacent Cape Province. A preliminary phylogenetic analysis suggests that W. dinteri is the sister group to the rest of the genus, while W. filtuensis, W. somalensis and W. socotrana are vicarious sister species. Wellstedia has usually been treated either as a separate subfamily within the Boraginaceae or as a family of its own close to Boraginaceae. Its most notable feature is the capsular fruits (here shown to be hygrochastic), capsules otherwise being unknown in Boragina+é-¡ceae. It is suggested that the nearest relative of Wellstedia may be Tiquilia in Boraginaceae subfamily Ehretioideae. Keywords: Biogeography, Boraginaceae, Phylogeny, Pollen, morphology, Taxonomy, Wellstedia.