Flowering plants in the order Ericales recorded from South Africa
The Ericales are a large, diverse and cosmopolitan order of dicotyledonous flowering plants, The order includes trees, bushes, lianas, and herbaceous plants. Together with ordinary autophytic plants, the Ericales include chlorophyll-deficient mycoheterotrophic plants (e.g., Sarcodes sanguinea) and carnivorous plants (e.g., genus Sarracenia). Many species have five petals, often grown together. Fusion of the petals as a trait was traditionally used to place the order in the subclass Sympetalae.[1]Mycorrhizal associations are quite common among the order representatives, and three kinds of mycorrhiza are found exclusively among Ericales (namely, ericoid, arbutoid and monotropoid mycorrhiza). In addition, some families among the order are notable for their exceptional ability to accumulate aluminum.[2] The entire order contains over 8,000 species, of which the Ericaceae account for 2,000-4,000 species (by various estimates).
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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
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.
↑ Robyns, W. (31 December 1972). "Outline of a New System of Orders and Families of Sympetalae". Bulletin du Jardin Botanique National de Belgique. 42 (4): 363–372. doi:10.2307/3667661. JSTOR3667661.
↑ 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.
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