Strumaria | |
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Strumaria watermeyeri , in habitat near Nieuwoudtville, South Africa | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Amaryllidaceae |
Subfamily: | Amaryllidoideae |
Genus: | Strumaria Jacq. |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Strumaria is a genus of African plants in Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. [2] The genus is known in nature only from South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia. [3] Almost all species flower in the autumn and are cultivated as ornamental bulbous plants.
Species of Strumaria are deciduous bulbous plants. Their bulbs are generally small, around 7–35 mm (0.3–1.4 in) in diameter with a fibrous bulb tunic. Usually two leaves are produced, although there may be up to six. The flowers generally appear in the autumn with the arrival of the rains; the leaves may appear before, with, or after the flowers. The inflorescence is 20–40 cm (8–16 in) tall, with an umbel of two to 30 flowers, generally carried on long pedicels. Most species have white flowers, although they may also be pink or yellow. The six stamens are joined to the style, at least at the base. Strumaria is distinguished from other genera in the family Amaryllidaceae by the presence of a thickening at the base of the style, except in Strumaria spiralis , previously placed in its own genus Carpolyza. The seeds are reddish-green when ripe, with a diameter of 2–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in). When dry, the fruiting heads detach from the scape and are rolled away by the wind, thus dispersing the seeds. [4]
Accepted (as of April 2022 [update] ): [5] [6]
A few names have been coined using the name Strumaria, applied to species now considered better suited to other genera ( Hessea and Libertia ).
Species of Strumaria are native to South Africa (the Cape Provinces and the Free State), Lesotho and Namibia. [1] All but one species are found in the winter rainfall area of Southern Africa, to the west and southwest, with the highest concentration in the highlands of Namaqualand. The exception is Strumaria tenella subsp. orientalis, found to the east in the Free State and Lesotho. [4]
Some Strumaria species are cultivated as ornamental bulbous plants, particularly for their autumn flowering period. Although they will survive a minimum temperature of 0 °C (32 °F), a higher minimum of 8 °C (46 °F) is recommended, for example in a cool greenhouse. The medium in which they are grown needs to be free-draining. They can be propagated from seeds, which lack dormancy and so need to be sown as soon as possible after being shed. [4]
Brunsvigia is a genus of African flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. It contains about 20 species native to southeastern and southern Africa from Tanzania to the Cape Provinces of South Africa.
Gethyllis, commonly called Kukumakranka, Koekemakranka, or Kroekemakrank, is a genus of bulbous plant in the Amaryllid family with some 33 accepted species.. It is native to the Cape Provinces, the Northern Provinces and the Free State of South Africa, as well as Botswana and Namibia.
Haemanthus is a Southern African genus of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Members of the genus are known as blood lily and paintbrush lily. There are some 22 known species, native to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini. About 15 species occur in the winter rainfall region of Namaqualand and the Western Cape, the remainder being found in the summer rainfall region, with one species Haemanthus albiflos occurring in both regions.
Ammocharis is a small genus from sub-Saharan Africa, in the family Amaryllidaceae which includes seven species distributed in Africa. The plant grows as above-ground bulb, preferring seasonally wet, hot, sandy soils and full sun.
Apodolirion is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the Amaryllis family. It consists of 6 species distributed in South Africa. The name Apodolirion comes from the Greek and means "stemless flower" and describes the almost sessile flowers of these species.
Cyrtanthus is a genus of perennial, herbaceous and bulbous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae.
Ammocharis longifolia is a species of bulbous plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. It has been placed as the only species, Cybistetes longifolia, in the monotypic genus Cybistetes.
The tribe Griffineae includes 2 genera with 22 species from South America which are actually endemic to Brazil. A typical character of the representatives of the tribe are the flowers - They are with blue or lilac color collected into an umbel. Only the members of this tribe and the genus Lycoris are able to form flowers with such color in the whole family Amaryllidaceae. The plants in this group are typical perennial flowers which are producing bulbs. The leaves are green, with elliptical form in the most of the cases but in some members as in Worsleya they are sword-shaped.
Albuca is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is distributed mainly in southern and eastern Africa, with some species occurring in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Plants of the genus are known commonly as slime lilies.
Hessea is a genus of bulb-forming plants in the Amaryllis family native to Namibia and South Africa. The genus name commemorates C. H. F. Hesse (1772–1832), who resided in Cape Town from 1800 to 1817.
Strumaria unguiculata is a plant species endemic to Western Cape Province in South Africa.
Pauridia is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae. It is native to southern Africa, and southern Australia. It has been introduced into New Zealand. The southern African species have been transferred from the genus Spiloxene.
Strumariinae is one of four subtribes within the tribe Amaryllideae, found in southern Africa.
Crininae is one of four subtribes within the tribe Amaryllideae, with a pantropical distribution (Crinum) and also sub-Saharan Africa.
Dierdré "Dee" Anne Snijman is a South African botanist and plant taxonomist who is notable for studying and writing extensively on bulbs. She has described over 120 species and has written comprehensive works on South African flora. She received the 1997 Herbert Medal from the International Bulb Society for her research on Amaryllis.
Strumaria chaplinii is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to south-west Cape Provinces. It was first described in 1944 as Hessea chaplinii.
Strumaria massoniella is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It was first described in 1985 as Gemmaria massoniella. Its bulb is solitary. Like other members of the genus Strumaria it has star-shaped flowers. In the Northern Cape Province, it is found in sandy plains at an elevation of about 1,000 m (3,300 ft).
Strumaria tenella is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to Lesotho, and the Cape Provinces and Free State of South Africa. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in 1782 as Crinum tenellum. Its inflorescence of white flowers has been described as "noticeably starry".