Hermannia is a genus of approximately 170 species of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae, placed in the order Malvales. The genus is among the larger genera in Malvaceae and is concentrated almost entirely in the southern African flora, with its greatest diversity centred in the Western and Northern Cape provinces of South Africa and in neighbouring Namibia.
Plants in the genus are generally shrubs or subshrubs bearing small, often bell-shaped flowers. Each species tends to occupy a narrow, geographically restricted range, yet within those ranges species are typically common. The genus as a whole is not considered threatened, and its species have attracted comparatively little attention in horticulture or medicine.
Beyond southern Africa, members of the genus also occur in Madagascar, tropical and north-east Africa, and Arabia. A small outlying contingent of three species is found in northern Mexico and adjacent parts of the United States, with one further species in southern Mexico and one in Australia, making Hermannia one of the few predominantly African plant genera with representatives in the New World and Australasia.
Etymology
The genus name Hermannia commemorates Paul Hermann (1646–1695), a German professor of botany at the University of Leiden and one of the earliest European botanists to collect plant specimens at the Cape of Good Hope.
Distribution
Hermannia is centred in southern Africa, with the greatest species richness in the Western and Northern Cape and Namibia; most species are endemic to this region. The genus also extends into Madagascar, tropical East Africa, north-east Africa, and Arabia. A few species reach northern Mexico and adjacent areas of the United States, one species occurs in southern Mexico, and one is native to Australia.
