Flagellaria is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Flagellariaceae with only four species. The family has historically been recognized by few taxonomists. The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), does recognize such a family, and assigns it to the order Poales in the clade commelinids, in the monocots. Flagellaria consists of only four known species, found in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and various island of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.