''Monsonia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of plants in the family

Geraniaceae Geraniaceae is a family of flowering plants placed in the order Geraniales. The family name is derived from the genus ''Geranium''. The family includes both the genus ''Geranium'' (the cranesbills, or true geraniums) and the garden plants called ...

. It is named after

Lady Anne Monson Lady Anne Monson (née Vane; 25 June 172618 February 1776), also known as Lady Anne Hope-Vere, was an English botanist and collector of plants and insects. Life She was the daughter of Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington, and his wife, Lady Gr ...

, 1714–76, known for her botanical knowledge and plant collecting in the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

Description

''Monsonia'' consists of herbs or undershrubs often with simple stem from woody rootstock or deep tap root; leaves toothed or divided; flowers regular, petals 5, separate, tip broad, blunt or slightly notched, stamens in 5 groups with 3 stamens in each, one longer than others, ovary 5 lobed; fruit beaked.

Taxonomy

Species

, the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' accepts 27 species:

Distribution

Distributed in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

and

East India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadh ...

, approximately 40 species, approximately 21 in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

.wild Flowers of Niorthern South Africa by Gerrit Germishuizen, Fernwood Press 1997,

Gallery

File:Monsonia emarginata.jpg, '' Monsonia emarginata'' File:Monsonia attenuata, Walter Sisulu NBT, b.jpg, ''Monsonia attenuata'' File:Monsonia umbellata IMG 8248.JPG, ''Monsonia umbellata'' File:Seed monsonia praemorsa.jpg, ''Monsonia praemorsa'' seeds. File:Monsonia angustifolia seeds, by Omar Hoftun.jpg, Monsonia angustifolia seeds.

References

Geraniales genera Geraniaceae {{Geraniaceae-stub