Ammocharis longifolia

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Ammocharis longifolia
Ammocharis longifolia 2013 03 19 2393.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae
Genus: Ammocharis
Species:
A. longifolia
Binomial name
Ammocharis longifolia
Synonyms
  • Cybistetes longifolia(L.) Milne-Redh. & Schweick.
  • Crinum longifolium(L.) Thunb.
  • Crinum falcatum Jacq.
  • Crinum capense(Mill.) Herb.
  • Brunsvigia falcata(Jacq.) Ker-Gawl.
Lilium Africanum Polyanthos in Paradisus batavus, 1698 Hermann Lilium africanum polyanthos.jpg
Lilium Africanum Polyanthos in Paradisus batavus, 1698

Ammocharis longifolia is an African species of bulbous flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. It has been placed as the only species, Cybistetes longifolia, in the monotypic genus Cybistetes.

Contents

Description

Ammocharis longifolia is a perennial geophyte with large (100–150 mm) bulbs, 9–14 prostrate leaves, a 13–90 flowered inflorescence, flowers funnel-shaped, ivory or pale to dark pink, tepals connate forming a floral tube.

It is distinguished from other species of Ammocharis by the presence of zygomorphic flowers, as opposed to actinomorphic, and by its seed dispersal mechanism, with a wind blown indehiscent infructescence (fruiting head) that gave it its name. [1] The fruiting head dries rapidly and is shed as a single unit, which the rolls away (tumbles), born by the wind. [2] Another distinguishing feature in the infructescence is the pedicels, which elongate, spread apart, stiffen and ultimately radiate equally in all directions. [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy

History

The taxon was originally described by Linnaeus in 1753 as Amaryllis longifolia, one of eight species in that genus, [6] but was well known and cultivated in Europe long before that, Linnaeus basing his description on Paul Hermann's Paradisus Batavus (1698) as Lilium Africanum Polyanthos. [7] Since then it has had a complicated history as detailed by Milne-Redhead and Schweickerdt, being variously placed in Crinum and Brunsvigia . [8]

Cybistetes was one of three genera in subtribe Crininae and Cybistetes longifolia has been considered a synonym for Ammocharis longifolia in the closely related genus Ammocharis since 2007, [1] [5] and is treated as such by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. [9] Prior to that it was treated as a separate genus by taxonomists [10] [11] [12] in a Sister) relationship to Ammocharis. In that configuration the third genus of subtribe Crininae, Crinum was then in a sister relationship to the Cybistetes+Ammocharis clade. [12]

Cybistetes was described by Milne-Redhead and Schweickerdt in 1939, [10] and fairly consistently treated as a separate genus, being distinct from Ammocharis in both distribution and seed dispersal, and was grouped within Crininae by recircumscription of this subtribe in 2001, based on molecular phylogenetics. [12] Milne-Redhead and Schweickerdt had segregated Cybistetes from Ammocharis largely on the basis of infructescence structure. For Cybistetes the entire infructescence of indehiscent fruits is the dispersal unit (anemogeochory ). By contrast Ammocharis fruits are dehiscent and infrutescence is lax. [5] [13] [14] However Snijman and Linder (1996) had suggested, on morphological grounds alone that Cybistetes and Ammocharis be embedded in Crinum, there being insufficient synapomorphy to separate them, nevertheless they retained the distinction in their delineation of the subtribe (which incidentally contained Boophone ). [13] Although Germishuizen and Meyer embedded Cybistetes in Ammocharis in their original (2003) Plants of Southern Africa, [3] the 2007 online version lists it separately. [4]

Eventually a much more detailed study in 2007 with a greater sampling of Ammocharis showed that Cybistetes is indeed embedded in Ammocharis as A. longifolia, where it is sister to A. angolensis. [1] Snijman and Kolberg (2011) provide a key to the entire genus of Ammocharis, including A. longifolia. There, it is distinguished from A. deserticola by its short perigone tube of only 8–15 mm long, relative to the latter (50–90 mm) [2]

Distribution

It is distributed in southern Namibia and western Cape Province, [12] which constitute the extreme western region of winter rainfall in southern Africa. [2]

Left to right: Flowering inflorescence, fruiting inflorescence, tumbling infruitescence Ammocharis longifolia IMG 2285.JPG
Left to right: Flowering inflorescence, fruiting inflorescence, tumbling infruitescence

Related Research Articles

<i>Nerine</i> Genus of flowering plants

Nerine is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. They are bulbous perennials, some evergreen, associated with rocky and arid habitats. They bear spherical umbels of lily-like flowers in shades from white through pink to crimson. In the case of deciduous species, the flowers may appear on naked stems before the leaves develop. Native to South Africa, there are about 20–30 species in the genus. Though described as lilies, they are not significantly related to the true lilies (Liliaceae), but more closely resemble their relatives, Amaryllis and Lycoris. The genus was established by the Revd. William Herbert in 1820.

<i>Ammocharis</i> Genus of flowering plants

Ammocharis is a small genus from sub-Saharan Africa, in the family Amaryllidaceae which includes seven species distributed in Africa. The plant grows as above-ground bulb, preferring seasonally wet, hot, sandy soils and full sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Griffineae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

The Griffineae is a tribe in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. It includes 3 genera with 22 species endemic to Brazil in South America. A typical character of the representatives of the tribe are the flowers - They are blue or lilac and collected into an umbel. Only the members of this tribe and the genus Lycoris are able to form flowers with such color in the whole subfamily Amaryllidoideae of Amaryllidaceae. The species in this group are typically perennial and produce bulbs. The leaves are green, with elliptical form in most of the cases but in some members, as in Worsleya, they are sword-shaped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amaryllidaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus Amaryllis and is commonly known as the amaryllis family. The leaves are usually linear, and the flowers are usually bisexual and symmetrical, arranged in umbels on the stem. The petals and sepals are undifferentiated as tepals, which may be fused at the base into a floral tube. Some also display a corona. Allyl sulfide compounds produce the characteristic odour of the onion subfamily (Allioideae).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amaryllidoideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

Amaryllidoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. The most recent APG classification, APG III, takes a broad view of the Amaryllidaceae, which then has three subfamilies, one of which is Amaryllidoideae, and the others are Allioideae and Agapanthoideae. The subfamily consists of about seventy genera, with over eight hundred species, and a worldwide distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galantheae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Galantheae is a tribe of European, West Asian and North African flowering plants belonging to the subfamily Amaryllidoideae of the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). As of 2017, it contains three genera, although more were included previously. The position of the ovary is inferior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amaryllideae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Amaryllideae are a tribe of subfamily Amaryllidoideae. They are herbaceous monocot perennial flowering plants with a predominantly Southern African distribution, with the exception of the pantropical genus Crinum. They are generally treated as consisting of four subtribes. In addition to Crinum, other genera include Amaryllis, Boophone and Strumaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haemantheae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Haemantheae are a tribe of subfamily Amaryllidoideae. They are herbaceous monocot perennial flowering plants with a predominantly African distribution. Three subtribes are proposed and six genera including the type genus, Haemanthus, are included. They are characterised by the presence of baccate (berry) fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calostemmateae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Calostemmateae are a very small tribe of subfamily Amaryllidoideae. They are herbaceous monocot perennial flowering plants endemic to Australasia. The tribe consists of two genera, Proiphys and Calostemma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pancratieae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Pancratieae are a small European tribe of subfamily Amaryllidoideae, consisting of two genera including the type genus, Pancratium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eustephieae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Eustephieae is a flowering plant tribe in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. It forms part of the Andean clade, one of two clades in The Americas.

Stenomesseae was a tribe, where it forms part of the Andean clade, one of two American clades. The tribe was originally described by Traub in his monograph on the Amaryllidaceae in 1963, as Stenomessae based on the type genus Stenomesson. In 1995 it was recognised that Eustephieae was a distinct group separate from the other Stenomesseae. Subsequently, the Müller-Doblies' (1996) divided tribe Eustephieae into two subtribes, Stenomessinae and Eustephiinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eucharideae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Eucharideae is a tribe of plants within the family Amaryllidaceae. It was augmented in 2000 by Meerow et al. following a molecular phylogenetic study that revealed that many elements of the tribe Stenomesseae segregated with it, rather than separately, and were subsequently submerged in it. Further revisions were made in 2020, when three genera were merged. It forms one of the tribes of the Andean subclade of the American clade of the subfamily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinantheae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Clinantheae is a tribe, where it forms part of the Andean clade, one of two American clades. The tribe was described in 2000 by Alan Meerow et al. as a result of a molecular phylogenetic study of the American Amaryllidoideae. This demonstrated that the tribe Stenomesseae, including the type genus Stenomesson was polyphyletic. Part of the tribe segregated with the Eucharideae and were submerged into it, while the other part formed a unique subclade. Since the type species of Stenomesson was not part of the second subclade, it was necessary to form a new name for the remaining species together with the other genera that remained. This was Clinanthus, the oldest name for these species, and consequently the tribe Clinantheae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strumariinae</span> Subtribe of flowering plants

Strumariinae is one of four subtribes within the tribe Amaryllideae, found in southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crininae</span> Subtribe of flowering plants

Crininae is one of four subtribes within the tribe Amaryllideae, with a pantropical distribution (Crinum) and also sub-Saharan Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliviinae</span> Subtribe of flowering plants

Cliviinae is a small subtribe of Haemantheae, and therefore within the African clades of Amaryllidoideae. It consists of two genera, Clivia, and Cryptostephanus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haemanthinae</span> Subtribe of flowering plants

Haemanthinae is a small subtribe of Haemantheae, and therefore within the African clades of Amaryllidoideae. It consists of two genera, Haemanthus, and Scadoxus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gethyllidinae</span> Subtribe of flowering plants

Gethyllidinae is a small subtribe within the amaryllis family. It is within tribe Haemantheae, and therefore within the African clades of Amaryllidoideae. It contains two genera, Gethyllis and Apodolirion, both are endemic to southern Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kwembeya et al 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 Snijman & Kolberg 2011.
  3. 1 2 Germishuizen & Meyer 2003.
  4. 1 2 Germishuizen & Meyer 2003, Cybistetes.
  5. 1 2 3 Snijman & Williamson 1994.
  6. Linnaeus 1753, Amaryllis pp. 292–293.
  7. Hermann 1705, p. 195.
  8. Milne-Redhead & Schweickerdt 1939.
  9. WCLSPF 2015, Cybistetes.
  10. 1 2 Milne-Redhead & Schweickerdt 1939, 52: 189.
  11. Müller-Doblies & Müller-Doblies 1996.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Meerow & Snijman 2001.
  13. 1 2 Snijman & Linder 1996.
  14. Meerow et al 2003.

Bibliography