The genus Chlorophytum is placed in the Anthericaceae family and comprises around 215 species found worldwide with the densest diversity in Africa and India. The genus name Chlorophytum is a combination of the two Greek words chloros, meaning green and phyton, meaning plant, i.e. green plant. The family Anthericaceae comprises 8 genera of which 2 occur in Africa, namely Anthericum and Chlorophytum. It can be difficult to distinguish between the genus Chlorophytum and the genus Trachyandra which belongs to the closely related family Asphodelaceae. A well-known species in the family Anthericaceae is Chlorophytum comosum (better known as hen-and-chickens’) which is also a popular garden plant.

Chlorophytum bowkeri is a South African indigenous species found in damp grassland from the Eastern Cape to Zimbabwe. It grows to 1 m often forming colonies. Leaves are channelled and lanceolate and the white short lived flowers in small clusters are in an unbranched raceme.