Plants in the family are distributed on all the southern continents -
South America (two spp.,
Apodasmia chilensis and
Gaimardia australis),
Africa south of the Equator and including
Madagascar (about 330 spp.),
Australia (about 150 spp.) and
New Zealand (four spp.), and widely distributed in
Southeast Asia (one sp.). They are often dominant elements of the flora in the
Mediterranean climates of
South Africa and
Western Australia. They are the defining family in the
Western Cape fynbos plant community. The South American species is very similar to one of the New Zealand species, leading to the conjecture that it might have crossed the
Pacific in the last 30 million years. The distribution of restios in Africa is irregular, with the same single species occurring in Madagascar, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Tanzania, and
Malawi, while a different species is found in the
Chimanimani Mountains of eastern
Zimbabwe. Four species are found in the
Natal Drakensberg, one of which spills over into
Mpumalanga and
Limpopo provinces. The vast majority of species, though, are to be found in the
Cape Floristic Region and particularly plentiful on hard sandstone formations. The center of diversity lies in the
Kogelberg, where more than a third of all Restionaceae may be found. Restionaceae are grown in
Kirstenbosch,
Cape Town's National Botanical Gardens. A number of the largest African species have become popular as garden ornamentals in many parts of the world, some being useful as accent plants similar to small species of
bamboo, but with pendant stems of greater delicacy. Also, many smaller species offer a great variety of decorative features and deserve horticultural attention. ==Taxonomy==