''Acis trichophylla'' 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 ...

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 ...

, native to Portugal, Spain and Morocco. It has very narrow leaves. The flowers are produced in late winter or early spring and are usually white, but sometimes pink-tinged or all pink. The species is cultivated as an ornamental bulb, but requires protection from hard frost.

Description

''Acis trichophylla'' is a

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 ...

, growing up to 30 cm tall, although usually shorter. There are generally three very narrow leaves per bulb, appearing before the flowers, each leaf being up to 18 cm long but only at most 1 mm wide. Flowering is in late winter or early spring. The flowers are white, sometimes with pink tinges or occasionally all pink, and are arranged in groups of two to four on a stem ( scape) that is about as long as or longer than the leaves. Each flower is borne on a long stalk (

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 ...

), up to 45 or 60 mm long, and has six

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, 12–20 mm long, with sharp tips, that open widely to form a bell shape. The two

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 ...

s are shorter than the pedicels. The

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

is slightly longer than the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

Taxonomy

The nomenclature of ''Acis trichophylla'' is somewhat complex. The epithet ''trichophyllum'' was first published, in the combination ''Leucojum trichophyllum'', by

Peter Schousboe Peter Schousboe (1766–1832) was a Danish botanist. Biography Peder Kofod Anker Schousboe was born in Rønne, Denmark and died in Tangier, Morocco, having served as Danish consul general in Tangier from 1800 onwards. He conducted a botanica ...

in 1800. The combination was used again as a supposedly new name by Félix Brotero in 1804, but as it had already been published in 1800, ''Leucojum trichophyllum'' Brot. is an illegitimate later

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones (equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition, ...

. In 1829, Robert Sweet suggested that ''Leucojum trichophyllum'' belonged in ''Acis'', but did not explicitly use the combination ''Acis trichophylla'' nor make clear whose ''Leucojum'' name he meant. The combination ''Acis trichophylla'' was first used in 1830 by

George Don George Don (29 April 1798 – 25 February 1856) was a Scottish botanist and plant collector. Life and career George Don was born at Doo Hillock, Forfar, Angus, Scotland on 29 April 1798 to Caroline Clementina Stuart and George Don (b.1756), p ...

, referring to Sweet (he actually used the masculine form ''trichophyllus''). Although William Herbert in 1837 also placed the species in ''Acis'', most later botanists used the genus ''

Leucojum ''Leucojum'' is a small genus of bulbous plants native to Eurasia belonging to the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. As currently circumscribed, the genus includes only two known species, most former species having been moved into th ...

'', treating it as ''L. trichophyllum'' Schousb. In 2004, it was restored to ''Acis'', along with other species of ''Leucojum'', on the basis of a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study. A number of infraspecies have been described, none of which are recognized by 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 ...

. Forms with pinkish flowers have been called f. ''broteri'' and f. ''purpurascens'', those with larger flowers var. ''grandiflorum''.

Distribution and habitat

''Acis trichophylla'' is found in central and southern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, south central and south-western

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and across the

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 ...

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 ...

. It is found in dry sandy ground.

Cultivation

''Acis trichophylla'' is cultivated as an ornamental bulb. It requires protection from frost, and warm dry conditions for a long time in summer, hence growing in an

alpine house A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These s ...

bulb frame In agriculture and gardening, a cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground, used to protect plants from adverse weather, primarily excessive cold or wet. The transparent top admits sunlight and prevents heat escape via co ...

is recommended. Unless planted deeply, around 15 cm, it tends to divide into small non-flowering bulbs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5656667 trichophylla Flora of Morocco Flora of Portugal Flora of Spain Plants described in 1830