Taxonomic notes on the genera Tiliacora and Tinospora (Menispermaceae) in southern Africa

•A review of the genera Tiliacora and Tinospora in southern Africa is presented.•One species of Tiliacora and three species of Tinospora are recognized.•Tiliacora is a liana with dark green, ovate leaves and ellipsoidal drupes.•Tinospora are lianas with cordate leaves on slender petioles and roundish drupes.

A review of the genera Tiliacora and Tinospora in southern Africa is presented. One species of Tiliacora (Tiliacorafunifera) and three species of Tinospora (Tinosporacaffra, Tinospora fragosa and Tinosporatenera) occur in this region. Synonymies, formal descriptions, distribution data and notes on the ecology and known traditional uses of the species in southern Africa are provided as well as a key to distinguish the species of Tinospora. Tiliacorafunifera is a liana with dark green, ovate leaves and ellipsoidal drupes, whereas the Tinospora species are lianas with cordate leaves on slender petioles and roundish, fleshy drupes. The three Tinospora species in southern Africa differ especially in the shape of the leaf base and the coalescence of the filaments.