Babiana Ker Gawler is a genus of flowering plants in the Family Iridaceae composed of about 80 species. Most of these species (about 49) are found in the southwestern Cape of Africa, with the remainder distributed in Namaqualand and Northern Cape Province. The native range of the genus is from southern Namibia to the Eastern Cape to southern Zimbabwe, with one species from Socotra off the coast of Somalia (although this may not be a species of Babiana). The genus name is derived from the Dutch word baviaan, referring to the African monkey that consumes the corms of plants in the genus.
