Simethis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Asphodelaceae |
Subfamily: | Hemerocallidoideae |
Genus: | Simethis |
Species: | S. mattiazzii |
Binomial name | |
Simethis mattiazzii (Vand.) Sacc. | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Simethis is a genus of plants in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae. [2] It contains only one known species, Simethis mattiazzii, commonly called the Kerry lily. [1] [3]
It grows in dry places especially near the coast in Western Europe (Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy) and northern Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia). Its common name is based on its occurrence at a few sites in County Kerry, Ireland. [1]
The Kerry lily is a perennial plant reaching a maximum height of 25 cm (10 in). It has a vertical rhizome and fleshy roots. The leaves grow from the base of the plant and are up to 30 cm (12 in) long; they are narrow, linear and grass-like, and sometimes curl. The inflorescence is a sparsely-branched, erect, wiry stem bearing a few small leaves and a loose spike of three to ten flowers with six tepals. The flowers are 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter, purple-grey in bud and gleaming white when they open. The six stamens have fuzzy white filaments tipped by yellow anthers. The fruit is a three-lobed capsule. The Kerry lily flowers in May and June. [4] [5]
The Kerry lily has a scattered, mainly maritime, distribution in Western Europe and North Africa. The only place in the British Isles where it is found is in County Kerry in southwestern Ireland, where it is restricted to a 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) area around Derrynane. [6] It occurs in western France, the Pyrenees, the Atlantic coastal strip of northern and western Spain and Portugal, the Mediterranean coastal strip of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and isolated sites in western Italy, Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. In different parts of its range it inhabits grassland and heathland habitats, maquis, shrubland and cork-oak woodland. It is common in the Atlantic belt of Europe but rare in many of the other scattered locations in which it grows. [5]
This plant has a relictual distribution, with southwestern Ireland being its most northerly occurrence. It was recorded from Dorset in southern England, but seems to now be extinct there. It is more common in Brittany and the Loire Valley, and the northern flanks of the Pyrenees but much rarer further inland. It is also common in the coastal strip of the Iberian Peninsula, and was discovered growing on the island of Marettimo, Sicily, for the first time in 2012. The population in North Africa is very fragmentary. [5]
Asphodelus is a genus of mainly perennial flowering plants in the asphodel family Asphodelaceae that was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The genus was formerly included in the lily family (Liliaceae). The genus is native to temperate Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent, and some species have been introduced to, and are now naturalized in, other places such as New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and southwestern United States. Many asphodels are popular garden plants, which grow in well-drained soils with abundant natural light.
The golden samphire is a perennial coastal species, which may be found growing on salt marsh or sea cliffs across western and southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Centaurea calcitrapa is a species of flowering plant known by several common names, including red star-thistle and purple star thistle. It is native to Europe but is rarely found there, it is known across the globe as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. The species name calcitrapa comes from the word caltrop, a type of weapon covered in sharp spikes.
Cephalanthera rubra, known as red helleborine, is an orchid found in Europe, North Africa and southwest Asia. Although reasonably common in parts of its range, this Cephalanthera has always been one of the rarest orchids in Britain.
Orchis anthropophora, the man orchid, is a European species of orchid whose flowers resemble a human figure. The head is formed by the petals and sepals, and the suspended torso and limbs by the lobes of the labellum. It usually grows in calcareous grassland.
Allium sphaerocephalon is a plant species in the Amaryllis family known as round-headed leek, round-headed garlic, ball-head onion, and other variations on these names. Drumstick allium is another common name applied to this species. Some publications use the alternate spelling Allium sphaerocephalum. It is a bulbous herbaceous perennial plant.
Phyteuma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, native to Europe and Morocco.
Leucocrinum montanum, commonly known as the sand lily, common starlily or mountain lily, is the only species in the monotypic genus Leucocrinum, placed in the family Asparagaceae, and subfamily Agavoideae. It is native to the western United States, primarily in the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin.
Cakile maritima, sea rocket or European searocket, is a common plant in the mustard family Brassicaceae. It is widespread in Europe, North Africa and western Asia, especially on coastlines. It can now be found in many other areas of the world where it has been introduced. It is present on the west and east coasts of North America, where it has the potential to become an invasive species. This is an annual plant which grows in clumps or mounds in the sand on beaches and bluffs. The shiny leaves are fleshy, green and tinted with purple or magenta, and long-lobed. It has white to light purple flowers and sculpted, segmented, corky brown fruits one to three centimetres long. The fruits float and are water-dispersed.
Orchis italica, the naked man orchid or the Italian orchid, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean Basin. It gets its common name from the lobed lip (labellum) of each flower which mimics the general shape of a naked man. In Italy, it is believed that the consumption of the plant is conducive to virility. It prefers partial shade and low nutrient soil, and flowers in April. Orchis italica grows up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in height, with bright pink, densely clustered flowers.
Allium roseum, commonly called rosy garlic, is an edible, Old World species of wild garlic. It is native to the Mediterranean region and nearby areas, with a natural range extending from Portugal and Morocco to Turkey and the Palestine region. It is cultivated widely, and has become naturalised in scattered locations in other regions outside its natural range.
Searsia pentaphylla, the tizra tree, is a sumac shrub or small tree species in the genus Searsia found in North Africa, especially in Morocco and Algeria, the Levant, and Sicily.
Frankenia laevis, commonly sea heath, is a low shrub in the family Frankeniaceae. It is native to south-west Europe and Britain and to northwestern Africa, including Macaronesia. It grows on the coast. It is rare in Britain.
Nepeta nepetella, common name lesser cat-mint, is a low-growing species of catnip belonging to the family Lamiaceae. It is native to France, Spain, Italy, Algeria, and Morocco.
Tulipa sylvestris, the wild tulip or woodland tulip, is a Eurasian and North African species of wild tulip, a plant in the lily family. Its native range extends from Portugal and Morocco to western China, covering most of the Mediterranean and Black Sea Basins, and Central Asia. The species is also cultivated as an ornamental and naturalized in central and northern Europe as well as a few scattered locations in North America. It was first recorded as being naturalised in Britain in the late 17th century.
Cerastium diffusum, the fourstamen chickweed or sea mouse-ear, is a species of flowering plant in the pink and carnation family Caryophyllaceae. It is an annual herb, to 30 cm.high, occurring in western Europe and northern Africa. Found mainly in coastal areas of Algeria, the Baleares, Belgium, Corsica, Denmark, France, the Faroe Islands, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, Spain and Sweden. The flowers have 4, petals, 4 or 5 stamens appearing between March and May. The petals are much shorter than the sepals. The leaves are opposite, (sessile) without petioles and the sepals and bracts are all green, without pale margins. The fruit petioles are erect and diffuse at maturity.
Acis autumnalis, the autumn snowflake, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. A short bulbous perennial, it is found on the western shores of the Mediterranean, from Portugal, Spain and Morocco to Sicily and Tunisia.
Salix pedicellata is a species of willow. It is a shrub or small tree to about 6–8 m tall, native around the Mediterranean Sea from Portugal to Lebanon and Syria in the north and from the Canary Islands to Tunisia in the south. Salix canariensis may be treated as a subspecies of S. pedicellata.
Romulea columnae, the sand crocus, is a herbaceous perennial in the family Iridaceae. It is a small plant, with thin narrow leaves, and small scape which has small pink, pale purple or violet pointed flowers with darker veining and a gold or yellow throat. It is native to a wide area ranging from western Europe to the Mediterranean.
Veronica montana or wood speedwell is a perennial species of flowering plant from the genus Veronica. It also belongs to the family Plantaginaceae.