Anubias afzelii is a plant in the Araceae family. It was first described for science in 1857 by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott. That description was based on material collected in Sierra Leone by Adam Afzelius. Schott named the species after him. The genus "Anubias" was described at the same time. Only "A. afzellii" belonged to it. This is therefore the type species of the genus. "A. afzelii" was the first species of this genus known to science.