The plant genus ''Stilbe'' was described in 1767, originally as being in the

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. The ...

, but the genus now is placed in the family

Stilbaceae ''Stilbaceae'' is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales. Genera include: *'' Anastrabe'' E. Mey. ex Benth. *''Bowkeria'' Harv. *''Campylostachys'' Kunth *''Charadrophila'' Marloth *'' Euthystachys'' A. DC. *'' Halleria'' L. ...

. The entire genus is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

region of

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

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Tropicos, Stilbe Berg.
/ref> All the species are ericoid

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

lets,

fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...

areas. Their leaves are crowded into

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

and may be erect or reflexed. Their margins are revolute. The flowers are bisexual and set in the axils of bracts, with two narrow bracteoles. They are borne in short, dense terminal spikes. The calyx may be tubular or divided. The corolla is funnel-shaped with lobes about as long as the tube, often with a ring of white hairs in the throat, but hairless outside. There are four stamens inserted in the corolla-mouth. The ovary is entire, with two loculi, though they are not always well separated. There is a single, erect ovule in each loculus; the

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

is terete and the stigma simple, though sometimes slightly bifid at the tip. The fruit is oblong, enclosed in the calyx. Corresponding to the structure of the ovary, the fruit is generally two-lobed and two-locular, but sometimes by abortion, there may be only one

locule A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...

and one seed. The seed is indehiscent and its testa is reticulated. There are about half a dozen species of ''Stilbe'' and each occurs in limited areas in the fynbos extending from about Clanwilliam to Riversdale. They are elegant, sclerophyllous plants, with usually more than one stem and decorative flowering spikes, but they are not showy. Accordingly, they are of so little horticultural interest that they are not mentioned in the remarkably compendious Royal Horticultural Dictionary of GardeningChittenden, Fred J. Ed., Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening, Oxford 1951 ;Species ;formerly included now in ''

Campylostachys ''Campylostachys'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Stilbaceae described as a genus in 1832. There is only one known species, ''Campylostachys cernua'', endemic to the Cape Province region of South Africa. ;formerly included now in ...

Kogelbergia ''Kogelbergia '' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Stilbaceae described as a genus in 2000. The entire genus is endemic to the Cape Province region of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), i ...

References

Lamiales genera Stilbaceae Endemic flora of South Africa Taxa named by Peter Jonas Bergius {{Lamiales-stub