Flowering plants in the order Alismatales recorded from South Africa
The Alismatales (alismatids) are an order of
flowering plants including about 4500 species. Plants assigned to this order are mostly tropical or aquatic. Some grow in fresh water, some in marine habitats.
The
anthophytes are a grouping of plant taxa bearing flower-like reproductive structures. They were formerly thought to be a
clade comprising plants bearing flower-like structures. The group contained the
angiosperms - the extant flowering plants, such as
roses and
grasses - as well as the
Gnetales and the extinct
Bennettitales.[1]
23,420 species of vascular plant have been recorded in South Africa, making it the sixth most species-rich country in the world and the most species-rich country on the African continent. Of these, 153 species are considered to be threatened.[2] Nine
biomes have been described in South Africa:
Fynbos, Succulent
Karoo,
desert,
Nama Karoo,
grassland,
savanna,
Albany thickets, the
Indian Ocean coastal belt, and
forests.[3]
11
families are represented in the literature. Listed
taxa include
species,
subspecies,
varieties, and
forms as recorded, some of which have subsequently been allocated to other taxa as
synonyms, in which cases the accepted taxon is appended to the listing. Multiple entries under alternative names reflect
taxonomic revision over time.
^Doyle, J. A.; Donoghue, M. J. (1986). "Seed plant phylogeny and the origin of the angiosperms - an experimental cladistic approach". Botanical Review. 52 (4): 321–431.
doi:
10.1007/bf02861082.