[3] 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.

[2] 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.

A single species, Hermannia tigrensis, is found in western, southern and North-East Africa.

Hermannia's greatest diversity is found in the Western and Northern Cape, and Namibia.