''Acis valentina'' 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 ...

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

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 eastern Spain. Its white flowers appear in autumn. It can be grown as an ornamental bulb, but may need protection from hard frost.

Description

''Acis valentina'' is usually no more than 12 cm tall. It flowers in the autumn, the thread-like leaves appearing after the flowers. Flowers may be solitary or in a group of two or three. The flower has six milky 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, 8–14 mm long, each with a sharp point at the apex (at least in the outer three). ''Acis valentina'' resembles the spring-flowering '' Acis nicaeense'' in several ways, including possessing a six-lobed disc at the base of the ovary.

Taxonomy

''Acis valentina'' was first described in 1914 by

Carlos Pau Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

, as ''Leucojum valentinum''. It was transferred to the genus '' Acis'', along with other species of ''

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 ...

'', in 2004. Its nearest relative appears to be ''

Acis ionica ''Acis ionica'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native from south-western Albania to western Greece. It was initially confused with what is now ''Acis valentina'', a species found in Spain near Valencia. Descripti ...

'', found in the Balkans.

Distribution and habitat

The native distribution of ''Acis valentina'' is eastern Spain, north of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. It has also been recorded as occurring in the Ionian Islands of Greece; however these plants are now assigned to ''Acis ionica''. It is found in rocky pastures.

Cultivation

''Acis valentina'' is cultivated as an autumn-flowering

, but may need protection, such as 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 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15516662 valentina Flora of Spain Plants described in 1914