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Order:
Commelinales
Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants)
> Monocotyledons > Commelinoids
Five families of which three are encountered
in southern Africa. There are 68 genera and 812 species recorded
worldwide, of
which 13 genera and 60 species are native to southern Africa.
An additional three genera and four species are naturalised, and an
additional four genera and 15 species are recorded as being cultivated
in southern Africa.
Families encountered in southern Africa
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Commelinaceae
Forty genera and 652 species (tropical and temperate
regions), with seven genera and 48 species native to southern Africa, and two
genera and two species naturalised. An additional four genera and 15 species are
cultivated in the region. |
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Haemodoraceae There are 14 genera and 116 species worldwide,
with three genera and nine species native to southern Africa. |
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Pontederiaceae (Water Hyacinth family)
Water or marsh plants. There are nine genera and 33 species (tropics,
extending to temperate regions), with three genera and three species native to southern Africa, and one genus and two species (both aquatic
weeds) naturalised in the region. One of the latter species is
Eichornia crassipes
(Water hyacinth), which is a particularly invasive species that
clogs waterways. |
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Families not encountered in southern Africa
Hanguanaceae, Philydraceae
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