Myrtales is an order of flowering plants placed within the eurosids by the APG III system of classification for angiosperms. This finding is corroborated by the placement of the Myrtales in the Malvid clade by the One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes Initiative. 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.
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. 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.
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)).
Ten 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.
Combretaceae
Family: Combretaceae,
Combretum
Genus Combretum: Combretum apiculatum Sond. indigenous Combretum apiculatum Sond. subsp. apiculatum, indigenous Combretum bracteosum (Hochst.) Engl. & Diels, endemic Combretum caffrum (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Kuntze, endemic Combretum celastroides Welw. ex M.A.Lawson subsp. orientale Exell, accepted as Combretum celastroides Welw. ex M.A.Lawson subsp. celastroides, indigenous Combretum collinum Fresen. indigenous Combretum collinum Fresen. subsp. gazense (Swynn. & Baker f.) Okafor, indigenous Combretum collinum Fresen. subsp. suluense (Engl. & Diels) Okafor, indigenous Combretum collinum Fresen. subsp. taborense (Engl.) Okafor, indigenous Combretum edwardsii Exell, endemic Combretum erythrophyllum (Burch.) Sond. indigenous Combretum hereroense Schinz, indigenous Combretum hereroense Schinz subsp. hereroense, indigenous Combretum imberbe Wawra, indigenous Combretum kraussii Hochst. indigenous Combretum microphyllum Klotzsch, indigenous Combretum mkuzense J.D.Carr & Retief, endemic Combretum moggii Exell, endemic Combretum molle R.Br. ex G.Don, indigenous Combretum mossambicense (Klotzsch) Engl. indigenous Combretum nelsonii Dummer, endemic Combretum padoides Engl. & Diels, indigenous Combretum petrophilum Retief, endemic Combretum stylesii O.Maurin, Jordaan & A.E.van Wyk, indigenous Combretum tenuipes Engl. & Diels, endemic Combretum vendae A.E.van Wyk, endemic Combretum vendae A.E.van Wyk var. glabratum N.Hahn, endemic Combretum vendae A.E.van Wyk var. vendae, endemic Combretum woodii Dummer, indigenous Combretum zeyheri Sond. indigenous
Lumnitzera
Genus Lumnitzera: Lumnitzera racemosa Willd. indigenous Lumnitzera racemosa Willd. var. racemosa, indigenous
Pteleopsis
Genus Pteleopsis: Pteleopsis myrtifolia (M.A.Lawson) Engl. & Diels, indigenous
Quisqualis
Genus Quisqualis: Quisqualis parviflora Gerrard ex Sond. endemic
Terminalia
Genus Terminalia: Terminalia brachystemma Welw. ex Hiern, indigenous Terminalia brachystemma Welw. ex Hiern subsp. brachystemma, indigenous Terminalia phanerophlebia Engl. & Diels, indigenous Terminalia prunioides M.A.Lawson, indigenous Terminalia sericea Burch. ex DC. indigenous
Heteropyxidaceae
Family: Heteropyxidaceae,
Heteropyxis
Genus Heteropyxis: Heteropyxis canescens Oliv. indigenous Heteropyxis dehniae Suess. indigenous Heteropyxis natalensis Harv. indigenous
Lythraceae
Family: Lythraceae,
Ammannia
Genus Ammannia: Ammannia auriculata Willd. not indigenous, naturalised Ammannia auriculata Willd. var. auriculata, not indigenous, naturalised Ammannia baccifera L. not indigenous, naturalised Ammannia baccifera L. subsp. baccifera, not indigenous, naturalised Ammannia prieuriana Guill. & Perr. indigenous Ammannia pusilla Sond. accepted as Ammannia prieuriana Guill. & Perr. present Ammannia senegalensis Lam. indigenous