To date, 242 species from 58 families and 158 genera have been described from the Montagne des Français; the five most important families that account for over 40% of the species are the Rubiaceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Sapindaceae.
Domatia are also found in some rainforest tree species in the families Alangiaceae, Elaeocarpaceae, Fabaceae, Icacinaceae, Meliaceae, Rubiaceae, Sapindaceae and Simaroubaceae.
Placement of the genus within a family has previously been considered a difficult problem; it has at various times been placed in Capparaceae, Sapindaceae, Goodeniaceae and, in the Cronquist system, Polygalaceae.
He has described also new species in the plant families Cyclanthaceae, Sapindaceae, and Caprifoliaceae.