Hyacinthaceae

Family: Hyacinthaceae

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

There are about 46 genera and 900 species worldwide (Africa, Eurasia and N America), of which 27 genera and about 400 species are indigenous to southern Africa. An additional four genera and six species are cultivated in the region.

Genera indigenous to southern Africa

List from Williams (2000).

Albuca About 80 species, native to Africa and Arabian Peninsula, with about 60 species indigenous to southern Africa.
Amphisiphon One species, Amphisiphon stylosa, endemic to the Calvinia district of the Northern Cape.
Androsiphon One species, Androsiphon capensis, endemic to the Calvinia district of the Northern Cape.
Bowiea About 3 species, native to Africa, with 2 species in southern Africa.
Daubenya One species, Daubenya aurea, endemic to red clay soils in the Sutherland district of the Northern Cape.
Dipcadi About 30 species, native to Africa, Madagascar, Socotra, Mediterranean region and India, with 14 species in southern Africa.
Drimia About 13 species, endemic to southern Africa.
Drimiopsis About 15 species, native to Africa, with 5 species in southern Africa.
Eucomis About 11 species, native from South Africa through to Malawi, with about 10 species in southern Africa.
Galtonia The 4 species are endemic to southern Africa.
Lachenalia About 110 species, endemic to southern Africa.
Ledebouria About 46 species, native from Africa through to the southern tip of India, with 38 species in southern Africa.
Litanthus One species, Litanthus pusillus, endemic to southern Africa (widespread).
Massonia About 8 species, endemic to southern Africa.
Neobakeria One species, Neobakeria namaquensis, endemic to the Northern Cape.
Neopatersonia Three species, endemic to southern Africa.
Ornithogalum About 200 species, native to Africa, Europe and western Asia, with about 70 species in southern Africa.
Polyxena Five species, endemic to southern Africa.
Pseudogaltonia One species, Pseudogaltonia clavata, native to southern Africa (Namibia, Botswana, Limpopo Province).
Rhadamanthus Twelve species, endemic to southern Africa.
Schizobasis One species but maybe as many as five. Native to Africa, including southern Africa.
Scilla About 40 species, Native to Africa, Europe and Asia, with about 6 species indigenous to southern Africa. An additional three exotic species are cultivated in the region.
Tenicroa Five species, endemic to southern Africa.
Thuranthos Four species, extending from southern Africa into Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia, with 4 species in southern Africa.
Urginea About 100 species, native to Africa, Mediterranean and India, with about 24 species in southern Africa.
Veltheimia Two species, endemic to southern Africa (Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape).
Whiteheadia Two species, endemic to southern Africa.

Other genera, cultivated in southern Africa

List from Glen (2000), where these genera are listed under Liliaceae.

Bellevalia romana Indigenous to the Mediterranean.
Hyacinthoides (bluebells) Two species cultivated.
Hyacinthus orientalis (Hyacinth) Indigenous to Turkey, Syria and Lebanon.
Muscari Two species cultivated.

Publications

Glen, H.F. 2002. Cultivated Plants of Southern Africa. Jacana, Johannesburg.
Williams, R. 2000. Hyacinthaceae. In: Seed Plants of Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 610-619. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.