List of Iridaceae of South Africa

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Iridaceae is a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants (anthophytes) in the order Asparagales, the asparagoid lilies. The family takes its name from the irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c. 2244 species worldwide. [1] It includes a number of other well known cultivated plants, such as freesias, gladioli and crocuses. Members of this family are perennial plants, with a bulb, corm or rhizome. The plants grow erect, and have leaves that are generally grass-like, with a sharp central fold.

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23,420 species of vascular plant have been recorded in South Africa, making it the sixth most species-rich country in the world and the most species-rich country on the African continent. Of these, 153 species are considered to be threatened. [2] Nine biomes have been described in South Africa: Fynbos, Succulent Karoo, desert, Nama Karoo, grassland, savanna, Albany thickets, the Indian Ocean coastal belt, and forests. [3]

The 2018 South African National Biodiversity Institute's National Biodiversity Assessment plant checklist lists 35,130 taxa in the phyla Anthocerotophyta (hornworts (6)), Anthophyta (flowering plants (33534)), Bryophyta (mosses (685)), Cycadophyta (cycads (42)), Lycopodiophyta (Lycophytes(45)), Marchantiophyta (liverworts (376)), Pinophyta (conifers (33)), and Pteridophyta (cryptogams (408)). [4]

65 genera are represented in the literature. Listed taxa include species, subspecies, varieties, and forms as recorded, some of which have subsequently been allocated to other taxa as synonyms, in which cases the accepted taxon is appended to the listing. Multiple entries under alternative names reflect taxonomic revision over time.

Acidanthera

Genus Acidanthera :

Afrosolen

Genus Afrosolen :

Agretta

Genus Agretta :

Anisanthus

Genus Anisanthus : [4]

Anomatheca

Genus Anomatheca : [4]

Antholyza

Genus Antholyza : [4]

Aristea

Genus Aristea : [4]

Babiana

Genus Babiana : [4]

Barnardiella

Genus Barnardiella : [4]

Belamcanda

Genus Belamcanda : [4]

Bobartia

Genus Bobartia : [4]

Chasmanthe

Genus Chasmanthe : [4]

Codonorhiza

Genus Codonorhiza : [4]

Crocosmia

Genus Crocosmia : [4]

Devia

Genus Devia : [4]

Dierama

Genus Dierama : [4]

Dietes

Genus Dietes : [4]

Duthiastrum

Genus Duthiastrum : [4]

Ferraria

Genus Ferraria : [4]

Freesia

Genus Freesia : [4]

Galaxia

Genus Galaxia : [4]

Geissorhiza

Genus Geissorhiza : [4]

Gladiolus

Genus Gladiolus : [4]

Gynandriris

Genus Gynandriris : [4]

Hesperantha

Genus Hesperantha : [4]

Hexaglottis

Genus Hexaglottis : [4]

Homeria

Genus Homeria : [4]

Homoglossum

Genus Homoglossum : [4]

Huouttuynia

Genus Houttuynia : [4]

Hyalis

Genus Hyalis : [4]

Iris

Genus Iris : [4]

Ixia

Genus Ixia : [4]

Klattia

Genus Klattia : [4]

Lapeirousia

Genus Lapeirousia : [4]

Melasphaerula

Genus Melasphaerula : [4]

Meristostigma

Genus Meristostigma : [4]

Micranthus

Genus Micranthus : [4]

Montbretia

Genus Montbretia : [4]

Moraea

Genus Moraea : [4]

Morphixia

Genus Morphixia : [4]

Nivenia

Genus Nivenia : [4]

Nymanina

Genus Nymanina : [4]

Ovieda

Genus Ovieda : [4]

Peyrousia

Genus Peyrousia : [4]

Pillansia

Genus Pillansia : [4]

Psilosiphon

Genus Psilosiphon : [4]

Radinosiphon

Genus Radinosiphon : [4]

Rheome

Genus Rheome : [4]

Roggeveldia

Genus Roggeveldia : [4]

Romulea

Genus Romulea : [4]

Schizorhiza

Genus Schizorhiza : [4]

Schizostylis

Genus Schizostylis : [4]

Sisyrinchium

Genus Sisyrinchium : [4]

Sophronia

Genus Sophronia : [4]

Sparaxis

Genus Sparaxis : [4]

Syringodea

Genus Syringodea : [4]

Thereianthus

Genus Thereianthus : [4]

Tritonia

Genus Tritonia : [4]

Tritoniopsis

Genus Tritoniopsis : [4]

Tritonixia

Genus Tritonixia : [4]

Waitzia

Genus Waitzia : [4]

Watsonia

Genus Watsonia : [4]

Witsenia

Genus Witsenia : [4]

Wuerthia

Genus Wuerthia : [4]

Xenoscapa

Genus Xenoscapa : [4]

Related Research Articles

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

Sparaxis is a genus of flowering plants called the harlequin flowers. It belongs to the iris family Iridaceae with about 13 species endemic to Cape Province, South Africa.

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

Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866 by Christian Friedrich Ecklon (1886) and named after the German botanist and medical practitioner, Friedrich Freese (1795-1876). It is native to the eastern side of southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa, most species being found in Cape Provinces. Species of the former genus Anomatheca are now included in Freesia. The plants commonly known as "freesias", with fragrant funnel-shaped flowers, are cultivated hybrids of a number of Freesia species. Some other species are also grown as ornamental plants.

<i>Gladiolus</i> Genus of perennial cormous flowering plants

Gladiolus is a genus of perennial cormous flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae).

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

Babiana is a genus of geophytes in the family Iridaceae with 93 recognized species as of March 2022. The leaves consist of a stalk and a blade that are at an angle to each other. The leaf blades are entire, laterally flattened and pleated, and often hairy. Each individual flower is subtended by two hairy or smooth bracts that are green in most species. The outer bract is often the largest of the two. In most species the bracts have a dry, brown tip, but in a few species it is entirely green or entirely dry when flowering or the outer bract is translucent and has a papery texture. The inner bract is forked or split all the way to its base. Each flower is without a pedicel, with six tepals that are merged at their base into a tube and form a perianth that is mirror-symmetrical in most species, with three anthers implanted where the perianth tube widens and that are, in almost every species, clustered at one side of the style. The style has three branches that widen towards the tip and the ovary is inferior. Flowers occur in almost every conceivable colour, many have markings on some of the tepals, and few star-symmetrical flowers have a centre that strongly contrasts with the free part of the perianth. The majority of these species are endemic to the west and southwest of South Africa, and southwestern Namibia, but one species occurs elsewhere in Namibia and South Africa and another species can be found in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The genus name is derived from the Dutch word baviaan, referring to the Chacma baboon, Papio ursinus, that consumes the corms of plants in the genus. The genus is called bobbejaantjie in Afrikaans, meaning small baboon.

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

Ixia is a genus of cormous plants native to South Africa from the family Iridaceae. Some of them are known as the corn lily. Some distinctive traits include sword-like leaves and long wiry stems with star-shaped flowers. It usually prefers well-drained soil. The popular corn lily has specific, not very intense fragrance. It is often visited by many insects such as bees. The Ixia are also used sometimes as ornamental plants. The genus is endemic to the Cape Provinces of western South Africa.

<i>Watsonia</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants in the iris family Iridaceae

Watsonia is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, subfamily Crocoideae. Watsonias are native to southern Africa. The genus is named after Sir William Watson, an 18th-century British botanist.

The Koninklijke Algemeene Vereniging voor Bloembollencultuur, translated from Dutch as the Royal General Association for Bulb Culture, but more commonly known world-wide by the acronym of KAVB, is a trade association for the bulb horticulture sector, and was established in 1860. The association has a rural organization, within which regional groups and departments are active.

<i>Tritonia</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Tritonia is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family first described as a genus in 1802. They are naturally distributed across southern Africa, with a high concentration of species in Cape Province of western South Africa. The genus is closely related to the genus Ixia.

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

Moraea, the Cape tulips, is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1758. The group is widespread across Africa, the Mediterranean, and central and southwestern Asia. The genus name is a tribute to the English botanist Robert More.

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

Romulea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1772. It is found in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa.

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

Aristea is a genus of evergreen, perennial and rhizomatous species of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described in 1789. The genus is distributed in tropical and southern Africa, as well as Madagascar. The genus name is derived from the Greek word arista, meaning "awn".

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

Crocoideae is one of the major subfamilies in the family Iridaceae.

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

Hesperantha is a genus of cormous flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. The genus name is derived from the Greek words hesperos, meaning "evening", and anthos, meaning "flower".

<i>Tritoniopsis</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Tritoniopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1926. The entire genus is endemic to Cape Province in South Africa. The genus name refers to the African genus Tritonia and is combined with the Greek word opsis, meaning "look-alike".

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

Lapeirousia is a genus in the plant family Iridaceae. It is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, about a third of the species occurring in fynbos.

<i>Babiana sambucina</i> Species of flowering plant

Babiana sambucina is a species of geophyte of 8–30 cm (3.1–11.8 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has dense spikes of blue to violet-coloured, often fragrant flowers. There are two subspecies, B. sambucina subsp. longibracteata is restricted to a small area in the Northern Cape, B. sambucina subsp. sambucina grows in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. Flowers are present in August and September.

<i>Babiana mucronata</i> Species of flowering plant

Babiana mucronata is a perennial plant species that grows to about 5–18 cm (2.0–7.1 in) high and annually forms leaves and flowers from an underground corm. It is assigned to the iris family. It has a simple or branched, more or less upright spike of 3-12 dark to pale violet-blue, mirror-symmetrical flowers. Each flower consists of a perianth that is merged below into a funnel-shaped tube of 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) long but splits into six unequal tepals. Three stamens are curved, crowded near the upper lip, and carry pale violet anthers. Flowers may be found between late July and September.

References

  1. Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi: 10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1 .
  2. Butler, Rhett A. (1 July 2019). "Total number of plant species by country". Mongabay. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  3. "Vegetation of South Africa". PlantZAfrica.com. SA National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 "species_checklist_20180710.csv". South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 27 September 2020.