[2] There are 56 accepted species in southern Africa, with two varieties and about 112 names either unresolved or regarded as synonyms.

[3] All are perennial herbs growing from corms and producing erect spikes of showy flowers.

These were crossed with Watsonia meriana and other species in the early 20th century by breeders including John Cronin in Australia and Luther Burbank in California to produce a wide range of cultivars.

Native to South Africa, Watsonia species were introduced as garden ornamentals to Australia in the mid-19th century and were widely grown by the 1940s.

In the South-West of Western Australia, six species have become naturalised from garden escapes along rivers, wetlands and seasonally wet ground.