What is "hermannia"

Hermannia is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises at least 65 species with many more species as yet unresolved.

The genus commemorates Prof. Paul Hermann (1646-1695), a German professor of botany at Leyden and one of the first collectors to visit the Cape.

The genus has a large number of species, each with very limited distribution, but they are generally common and not threatened, with little interest shown in them for horticulture or medicine.

Their distribution ranges across Southern Africa, the vast majority of species being endemic. They are also found in Madagascar, and in tropical East Africa to North East Africa and Arabia. A single species, Hermannia tigrensis, is found in western, southern and North-East Africa. Three species are found in northern Mexico and adjacent regions of the United States, one species in southern Mexico, and one in Australia. Hermannia's greatest diversity is found in the Western and Northern Cape, and Namibia.

Hermannia is a genus of mites that includes several dozen described species. Typically they dwell in moss, feeding partly on fungi.