Semiaquilegia

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Semiaquilegia
Semiaquilegia adoxoides a4.JPG
Semiaquilegia adoxoides
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Subfamily: Thalictroideae
Genus: Semiaquilegia
Makino [1]
Species

See text

Semiaquilegia is a genus of flowering plants of the family Ranunculaceae, native to eastern Asia. The genus was first proposed by the botanist Tomitaro Makino in 1902. Most authorities generally hold that there is only one species in the genus, Semiaquilegia adoxoides , though other species have been proposed as members. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Plants of the World Online accepts four species of Semiaquilegia.

Contents

Description

The genus Semiaquilegia a perennial herb of the Ranunculaceae family. The plants possess tuberous roots. The arrangement of the leaves is basal (protruding from the stem's base) and cauline (attached to aerial stem). [2] Some small leaves will grow on the flower stem during the early summer. [3]

Semiaquilegia plants flower, with flowers that are actinomorphic (possess radial symmetrical). These flowers possess five petaloid sepals and five petals. The petals are in a basally gibbous arrangement. There are 8 to 14 stamens. [2] Characteristic of the genus, inner stamen can resemble flattened staminodes. [4] :45 The anthers are yellow. [2] While Semiaquilegia flowers can resemble those of Aquilegia , Semiaquilegia flowers lack nectar spurs or possess extremely short spurs. [3]

Fruit appear in groups of three to five follicles that diverge. [3] The seeds of the genus are colored brown to black-brown and heavily wrinkled. [2]

Taxonomy

The Japanese botanist Tomitaro Makino proposed the establishment of Semiaquilegia as a genus in 1902. Makino assessed the characteristics of the genus as approximating the appearance of plants in the genus Aquilegia , but with several distinctions. Among the features of Semiaquilegia that Makino identified were the absence of nectar spurs, the presence of fewer than 15 stamens, and possession of inner stamens that look like flattened staminodes. [4] :45

In 1920, British botanists James Ramsay Drummond and John Hutchinson published a paper, "A Revision of Isopyrum (Ranunculaceae) and Its Nearer Allies", in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information to address problems that had developed within the genus Isopyrum . In order to address the substantial morphological variance that had coexisted within Isopyrum, Drummond and Hutchinson segregated out the genus Paraquilegia and expanded Semiaquilegia to include species formerly identified as Isopyrum. [5] [4] :46 The American botanist and gardener referred to the 1920 expansion of Semiaquilegia to four species as "rather less fortunate". These new Semiaquilegia have been subsequently removed from the genus, with only S. adoxoides accepted as part of the genus by 2003. [4] :46–47

Etymology

The generic name Semiaquilegia is derived from the name for the genus Aquilegia (columbines), to which they are closely related, and literally translates as "half-columbines". [4] :46

Species

Species are regularly described, synonymized, or reassigned to other genera, so presently only one is considered valid by most authorities: the type species Semiaquilegia adoxoides . [2] [4] :45–47 There are four species accepted by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Plants of the World Online: [6]

Distribution

Semiaquilegia is native to East Asia. [3] If the genus is understood as only encompassing Semiaquilegia adoxoides, its range extends across China, Japan, and Korea. [2]

Cultivation

According to the Alpine Garden Society, Semiaquilegia are well-suited to pot cultivation at alpine houses. The plants require well-drained soil and can be short-lived. Propagation can be achieved by sowing seeds when they are fresh and in the spring. Division can also be used in propagation, if performed carefully. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Aquilegia</i> Genus of perennial plants (columbine)

Aquilegia is a genus of about 130 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher elevations throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.

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

Isopyrum is a genus of flowering plants of the family Ranunculaceae native to Eurasia and North America. Isopyrum plants possess white flowers with five sepals and five petals.

<i>Aquilegia chrysantha</i> North American species of columbine

Aquilegia chrysantha, the golden columbine, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The plant, with a height of between 40 centimetres (16 in) and 120 centimetres (47 in), has yellow flowers. A. chrysantha. as with other members of the Aquilegia coerulea species complex, is evolved for pollination by hawkmoth. It favors moist environments in its mountainous range.

Paraquilegia uniflora is a species of perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. Its range spans Tajikistan to the mountainous border between Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. It is a cushion plant with flowers that are blue or creamy white.

<i>Aquilegia alpina</i> Alpine European species of columbine

Aquilegia alpina, often called the alpine columbine or breath of God, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to the western and central Alps. Though rare in its Swiss, Austrian, and Italian range, it is commonly found in the French Maritime Alps. A. alpina is appreciated for its light blue to blue-purple flowers.

<i>Semiaquilegia adoxoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Semiaquilegia adoxoides is a species of perennial flowering plant in the Ranunculaceae. Native to Japan, Korea, and China, the plant grows to about 40 cm (16 in) tall and blooms with pale pink flowers. Now often considered the sole member of the genus Semiaquilegia, it bears similarities to members of the genus Aquilegia. S. adoxoides is native to China, Korea, and Japan and has an introduced population on Taiwan.

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

Urophysa is a genus of perennial flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae, endemic to China.

<i>Aquilegia gegica</i> Species of flowering plant

Aquilegia gegica is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aquilegia (columbine) in the family Ranunculaceae endemic to the western South Caucasus region in Abkhazia and Georgia. The plant's flower petals are light blue.

<i>Paraquilegia</i> Genus of plants

Paraquilegia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. The genus was segregated out from the genus Isopyrum in 1920 by British botanists James Ramsay Drummond and John Hutchinson. The native range of the genus is temperate central Asia.

<i>Aquilegia moorcroftiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Aquilegia moorcroftiana is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aquilegia (columbines) in the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to central Asia, with a range spanning Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Nepal, and Tibet. A. moorcroftiana grows at the highest elevation of any species of columbine, with examples frequently found at over 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) of elevation.

<i>Aquilegia sibirica</i> Species of flowering plant

Aquilegia sibirica, the Siberian columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae native to the north-central Asian regions of Siberia, northern Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Xinjiang. A hardy perennial plant, it prefers temperate environments. The Siberian columbine can be between 1 foot (0.30 m) and 2 feet (0.61 m) tall with flowers that are lilac-blue and white in color.

<i>Aquilegia micrantha</i> Species of flowering plants

Aquilegia micrantha, the Mancos columbine or Bluff City columbine, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. The species grows to between 30 cm (12 in) and 60 cm (24 in) tall and produces flowers that can be white, cream, blue, or pink.

Aquilegia baluchistanica is a perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, endemic to Pakistan. It has pink flowers.

<i>Aquilegia amurensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Aquilegia amurensis is a partially accepted species of flowering plant in the genus Aquilegia (columbines) in the family Ranunculaceae that is native to northeast Asia. Its natural range is in the northern Greater Khingan mountain range and Amur River of China, as well as Siberian Russia, Mongolia, and possibly North Korea. Flowers of this plant have petal blades that are whitish or white-tipped, with blue-violet nectar spurs and sepals. The plant is rarely cultivated.

<i>Urophysa henryi</i> Species of flowering plant

Urophysa henryi is a perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, endemic to southern China.

<i>Aquilegia microcentra</i> Species of flowering plant

Aquilegia microcentra is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae native to Uruzgan Province in central and southeastern Afghanistan. The plant is understood as related to Aquilegia moorcroftiana, which has a range spanning into Afghanistan. A. microcentra has small, white flowers. The species was first described by the Flora Iranica in 1992 from specimens collected by Karl Heinz Rechinger in 1967.

<i>Aquilegia gracillima</i> Species of flowering plant

Aquilegia gracillima is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae native to the area near Ghazni in eastern Afghanistan. The plant is understood as related to Aquilegia moorcroftiana, which has a range spanning into Afghanistan.

<i>Paraquilegia anemonoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Paraquilegia anemonoides is a species of perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to Central Asia, southwestern Siberia, and the Himalayas. This cushion plant's leaves grows to around 30 mm (1.2 in), with flowering stems reaching 80 mm (3.1 in) tall.

<i>Paraquilegia caespitosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Paraquilegia caespitosa is a species of perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to a range spanning between northern Iran to the western Himalayas. The species has flowers that have purplish red to pink sepals and yellow petals.

<i>Paraquilegia microphylla</i> Species of flowering plant

Paraquilegia microphylla is a species of perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. It is native across a range spanning Siberia, Central Asia into the Himalayas, and east to Japan. The species has flowers that vary in color across its range, with P. microphylla in the western Himalayas possessing small white flowers while those in the eastern Himalayas produce larger lilac flowers.

References

  1. Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 16: 119. 1902
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Semiaquilegia". Flora of China . Vol. 6. 2001. p. 276–277 via efloras.org.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Semiaquilegia". Alpine Garden Society Encyclopedia. Alpine Garden Society . Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nold, Robert (2003). Columbines: Aquilegia, Paraquilegia, and Semiaquilegia . Portland, OR: Timber Press. ISBN   0881925888 via Internet Archive.
  5. Drummond, J. R.; Hutchinson, J. (1920). "A Revision of Isopyrum (Ranunculaceae) and Its Nearer Allies". Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information . 1920 (5): 145–169. doi:10.2307/4107428. JSTOR   4107428.
  6. "Semiaquilegia Makino". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 26 January 2025.