Eleutherine

Eleutherine
Eleutherine bulbosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Iridaceae
Subfamily:	Iridoideae
Tribe:	Tigridieae
Genus:	Eleutherine Herb. [1]
Type species
Eleutherine plicata Herb.
Synonyms [2]
GalateaSalisb. 1812 GalateaHerb. 1819 name published without description GalateaSalisb. ex Kuntze 1891 not Salisb. 1812

Eleutherine is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1843. It is native to Latin America and the West Indies. ^[2]

The genus name may be derived from the Greek word eleuthera, meaning "free". ^[3]

Species ^[2]

• Eleutherine angusta Ravenna - Paraguay, Mato Grosso do Sul
• Eleutherine bulbosa (Mill.) Urb. - West Indies, South America; naturalized in Zaire, Réunion, India, Cambodia, Vietnam
• Eleutherine citriodora (Ravenna) Ravenna - Bolivia, northern Argentina
• Eleutherine latifolia (Standl. & L.O.Williams) Ravenna - Mexico, Central America, Bolivia, northern Argentina

References

1. Edwards's Botanical Register 29: t. 57 (1843), conserved name
2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
3. Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 240–41. ISBN   978-0-88192-897-6.

• Peter Goldblatt and Neil Snow. 1991. Systematics and Chromosome Cytology of Eleutherine Herbert (Iridaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Vol. 78, No. 4 (1991), pp. 942–949.