Griffinia hyacinthina | |
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Botanical illustrations of Griffinia hyacinthina | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Amaryllidaceae |
Subfamily: | Amaryllidoideae |
Genus: | Griffinia |
Species: | G. hyacinthina |
Binomial name | |
Griffinia hyacinthina (Ker Gawl.) Ker Gawl. | |
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Griffinia hyacinthina is endemic to Brazil | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Griffinia hyacinthina is a bulbous species of flowering plant which is endemic to Brazil. [2] [1]
It is a bulbous, perennial, [3] terrestrial herb [4] with ovate, [5] [6] tunicate, up to 7.5 cm wide bulbs bearing 5-7, [7] dark green, [8] [9] oblong, [3] glabrous, petiolate [10] [11] 20 cm long, and 5-7 cm wide leaves [11] with an acute or acuminate apex. [4] The leaves have a lattice-like venation. [11] [6] [3] The midrib of the leaf is prominent on the underside of the leaf. [11]
The up to 60 cm long umbellate inflorescence, [7] which exceeds the leaves in its height, [6] [7] bears up to seventeen blue-violet flowers lacking fragrance. [7] The cylindric scape is unstreaked and turns red towards the base. [11] The flowers have 6 [12] [13] 7 cm long, [7] lanceolate tepals [14] with an acute apex. The tepals are blue to violet towards the apex, but they are white at the base. [7] The flower has 6 stamens [4] with whitish anthers, [14] which are shorter than the tepals. The upper stamen is erect and the other five are pointing downwards. [11] [7] The trilocular ovary is subglobose. The stigma is simple. [11] The ovoid or obovoid, [4] trivalvular capsule fruit [15] bears 1–3 [7] rounded, dark brown, [8] large and fleshy seeds. [16] Within Griffinia subgenus Griffinia, it has the largest flowers. [2] Flowering occurs in the period of March through April. Up to five flowers may be open at the same time and they last for approximately one week. [7]
Flower and fruit formation in its natural habitat occurs in March to April. Infructescences with 1-7 fruits are formed. [10] Each pear-shaped fruit contains 1-3 seeds. Germination occurs within a period of 1-3 months and the seedlings reach maturity within 3-4 years. [10] [7]
Vegetative reproduction occurs through bulbils, which form clusters around the mother plant. [10]
This species was first described in 1817 as Amaryllis hyacinthinaKer Gawl. by John Bellenden Ker Gawler. Three years later he transferred it to Griffinia as Griffinia hyacinthina(Ker Gawl.) Ker Gawl. [1] It is the type species of its genus. [17]
The specific epithet hyacinthina means blue-coloured. [18] The flowers are hyacinthine blue. [11]
Like related species, Griffinia hyacinthina is endemic to Brazil. It is native to the south-eastern part of the country, [1] specifically the Atlantic Forest. [16] It grows in a very specific habitat. It requires the warmth, deep shade and high humidity of the tropical rainforest where the floor is covered with large quantities of organic matter.[ citation needed ]
This species is endangered. [4] [10] It is threatened by extinction, due to habitat destruction. [10]
It should be cultivated in well draining soils with a high proportion of organic material. [10] It is a slowly growing species. [19]