''Acis autumnalis'', the autumn snowflake,
[ is a ]species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the family Amaryllidaceae
The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus ''Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryllis fa ...
. A short bulb
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
ous perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
, it is found on the western shores of the Mediterranean, from Portugal, Spain and Morocco to Sicily and Tunisia.
Description
''Acis autumnalis'' grows to about tall. Its leaves are narrow, often seeming to form tufts, and usually only appear after the flowers. ''A. autumnalis'' flowers in late summer to autumn, with one to four flowers per stalk, each carried on a long, thin pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
. The white tepal
A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...
s are 9–14 mm long, pinkish at the base, less commonly all pink. The outer three tepals are toothed. There is normally only one spathe
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
at the base of the flowers.[
]
Taxonomy
''Acis autumnalis'' was first described by Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
in 1753, as ''Leucojum autumnale''.[ ]Richard Anthony Salisbury
Richard Anthony Salisbury, FRS (born Richard Anthony Markham; 2 May 1761 – 23 March 1829) was a British botanist. While he carried out valuable work in horticultural and botanical sciences, several bitter disputes caused him to be ostracised ...
in 1807 in ''The Paradisus Londinensis
''The Paradisus Londonensis'' (full title ''The Paradisus Londonensis : or Coloured Figures of Plants Cultivated in the Vicinity of the Metropolis'') is a book dated 1805–1808, printed by D.N. Shury, and published by William Hooker.. It consis ...
'' was the first to suggest putting ''Leucojum autumnale'' in a new genus, ''Acis'',[ although he did not actually use the name ''Acis autumnale'', which was first published in 1829 by Robert Sweet.][ Most later botanists did not accept the distinction between ''Leucojum'' and ''Acis''.][ The genus, and with it ''Acis autumnalis'', was reinstated in 2004, after it was determined on morphological and molecular grounds that, when broadly defined, ''Leucojum'' is ]paraphyletic
In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...
.[
The species has been divided into a number of varieties, differing in minor characters. For example, ''A. autumnalis'' var. ''diphyllum'' from North Africa has two spathes.][ The ]World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected plan ...
regards all the varieties as part of a single species.[
]
Distribution and habitat
''Acis autumnalis'' is found on both sides of the western Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
. In Europe, it is native to Portugal, Spain (including the Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
), Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
and Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
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, demographi ...
. In north Africa, it is native to Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
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, capital = Algiers
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, relig ...
and Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
.[ It occurs in rocky places and stony hillsides.][
]
Cultivation
''Acis autumnalis'' is grown as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
. It is recommended for light soils in sheltered positions in full sun. Some forms in cultivation increase rapidly from seeds, others from bulb division.[ The species has gained the ]Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...
's Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
.[
File:Acis autumnalis02.jpg, Growth habit
File:Lautumnale 01.jpg, Flower
File:Acis autumnalis fruit and seed.jpg, Fruit and seed
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5656657
autumnalis
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Flora of Southwestern Europe
Flora of Southeastern Europe
Flora of North Africa