The Restionaceae, also called restiads and restios, are a family of annual or perennial rush-like flowering plants native to the Southern Hemisphere; they vary from a few centimeters to 3 m in height. Following the APG IV (2016): the family now includes the former families Anarthriaceae, Centrolepidaceae and Lyginiaceae, and as such includes 51 genera with 572 known species. Based on evidence from fossil pollens, the Restionaceae likely originated more than 65 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period, when the southern continents were still part of Gondwana.