Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Common name: Waterpiesang, Water banana

Family: Araceae (Aroid)

Distribution: Comoros Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, Zanzibar

IUCN Red list: Not evaluated

Comments: This genus is believed to be closely related to Peltandra even though Peltandra is only found in North America and there don't appear to exist closely related genera in the African mainland. There isn't fossil evidence to link the two genera so it has been proposed that there once was a genus in Africa from which the two genera had originated. The African mainland genus spread to North America and to Madagascar 50 million years ago before it broke off. Then the African genus became extinct and the North American and Madagascan genera remained.