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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 12 genera and 51 species are indigenous to southern Africa.
An additional two genera and two species are naturalised, and an
additional six genera and 16 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 six
genera and 39 species indigenous to southern Africa, and one genus and
species naturalised. An additional six genera and 16 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 indigenous 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
indigenous 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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