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biodiversity explorer

the web of life in southern Africa

Genus: Watsonia

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Monocotyledons > Order: Asparagales > Family: Iridaceae

The 52 species are endemic to southern Africa, with most species found in the Western Cape and the grasslands of KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland and Mpumalanga. 

Pink and yellow flowered species with short, funnel-shaped tubes produce small quantities of nectar and are pollinated by bees. Red-flowered species with long tubes produce large amounts of nectar and are pollinated by sunbirds (Goldblatt and Manning 2000).

Species native to southern Africa

List from Plants of Southern Africa - an Online Checklist (SANBI).

Watsonia aletroides

Watsonia amabilis

 

Watsonia amatolae

 

Watsonia angusta

Watsonia bachmannii

Watsonia bella

 

Watsonia borbonica

Watsonia canaliculata

 

Watsonia coccinea

Watsonia confusa

Watsonia densiflora

Watsonia distans

 

Watsonia dubia

 

Watsonia elsiae

 

Watsonia emiliae

 

Watsonia fergusoniae

Watsonia fourcadei

Watsonia galpinii

Watsonia gladioloides

[photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]

Watsonia humilis

 

Watsonia hysterantha

Watsonia inclinata

 

Watsonia knysnana

 

Watsonia laccata

 

Watsonia latifolia

Watsonia lepida

Watsonia marginata

Watsonia marlothii

 

Watsonia meriana

Watsonia minima

 

Watsonia mtamvunae

Watsonia occulta

 

Watsonia paucifolia

Watsonia pillansii

Watsonia pondoensis

 

Watsonia pulchra

 

Watsonia rogersii

Watsonia rourkei

 

Watsonia schlechteri

Watsonia spectabilis

 

Watsonia stenosiphon

Watsonia stokoei

Watsonia strictiflora

 

Watsonia strubeniae

 

Watsonia tabularis

Watsonia transvaalensis

 

Watsonia vanderspuyiae

 

Watsonia versfeldii

 

Watsonia watsonioides

 

Watsonia wilmaniae

Watsonia wilmsii

 

Watsonia zeyheri

Publications

  • Goldblatt, P. 1989. The genus Watsonia. Annals of Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens 19.

  • Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J.C. 2000. Iridaceae. In: In: Seed Plants of Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 623-638. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.