Hyacinthaceae is a family of bulbous monocotyledenous flowering plants (anthophytes) in the order Asparagales. Named after the genus Hyacinthus, Hyacinthaceae include many garden plants and are distributed mostly in Mediterranean climates, including South Africa, Central Asia and South America. Their flowers have six tepals and six stamens with a superior ovary, which previously placed them within the lily family (Liliaceae), and their leaves are fleshy, mucilaginous, and arranged in a basal rosette.
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.[1] 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.[2]
The 2018 South African National Biodiversity Institute's National Biodiversity Assessment plant checklist lists 35,130 taxa in the phyla Anthocerotophyta (hornworts (6)), Anthophyta (flowering plants (33534)), Bryophyta (mosses (685)), Cycadophyta (cycads (42)), Lycopodiophyta (Lycophytes(45)), Marchantiophyta (liverworts (376)), Pinophyta (conifers (33)), and Pteridophyta (cryptogams (408)).[3]
43 genera 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.[3] Multiple entries under alternative names reflect taxonomic revision over time.
Genus Amphisiphon:[3]
Genus Brachyscypha:[3]
Genus Coelanthus:[3]
Genus Desertia:[3]
Genus Drimiopsis:[3]
Genus Eliokarmos:[3]
Genus Hyacinthus:[3]
Genus Lachenalia:[3]
Genus Ledebouria:[3]
Genus Ornithogalum:[3]
Genus Polyanthes:[3]
Genus Pseudogaltonia:[3]
Genus Pseudoprospero:[3]
Genus Rhadamanthus:[3]
Genus Schizobasis:[3]
Genus Schizocarphus:[3]
Genus Stellarioides:[3]
Genus Thuranthos:[3]
Genus Trimelopter:[3]
Genus Veltheimia[3]
Genus Whiteheadia:[3]