''Brunsvigia'' is a genus of African
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 ...
s 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 ...
, subfamily
Amaryllidoideae
Amaryllidoideae (Amaryllidaceae ''s.s.'', amaryllids) is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. The most recent APG classification, APG III, takes a broad view of the Amaryllidaceae, which then ...
. It contains about 20
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 ...
native to southeastern and southern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
from
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
to the
Cape Provinces
The Cape Provinces of South Africa is a biogeographical area used in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It is part of the WGSRPD region 27 Southern Africa. The area has the code "CPP". It includes the Sout ...
of South Africa.
Description
''Brunsvigia'' are
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 ...
,
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
, temperate, bulbous herbal plants. Most species have subterranean bulbs but they are usually half-exposed in ''B. herrei'' and ''B. josephinae''. Bulbs are tender, usually large (up to 20 cm diameter), winter-growing and summer-
dormant, generally flowering in early
autumn
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...
.
Tunics
A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rom ...
are often thick and
cartilaginous
Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck and ...
, typically brittle and tan-coloured, although they are brown and papery in ''B. josephinae'' and ''B. litoralis''.
The leaves are
annual
Annual may refer to:
*Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
** Yearbook
** Literary annual
*Annual plant
*Annual report
*Annual giving
*Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
*Annuals (band), ...
; when mature, the leaves are broad and oblong to tongue-shaped. In species with small bulbs – ''B. radula'', ''B. comptonii'', and ''B. namaquana'' – there are just two or three leaves per plant but most other species have at least four leaves per bulb. ''B. josephinae'' has the distinction of producing as many as 20 leaves. The leaves mostly lie flat on the ground and sometimes press down so firmly that they lie vertically if the bulb is dug up. Only in ''B. litoralis'', ''B. josephinae'', ''B. grandiflora'', ''B. undulata'' and ''B. herrei'' do the leaves stand clear of the ground. Although usually smooth, the upper leaf surfaces of two Namaqualand species (''B. radula'' and ''B. namaquana'') are covered with straw-coloured bristles and in some populations of ''B. striata'' from the southern Cape, they bear soft, scale-like hairs. In the winter rainfall region of southern Africa, the foliage is produced after the flowering heads have been shed, whereas in the summer rainfall region the vegetative and flowering stages often overlap. The
scape is firm, to 35 cm, deciduous and breaking at ground level in fruiting time.
The
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
s, a few- to many-flowered
umbel
In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...
s, are particularly conspicuous. In most species the
pedicels
In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''.
Description
Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...
are long, stiff, straight and
radiate outwards to form an almost perfectly spherical head; they elongate and spread after blooming. However, ''B. litoralis'', ''B. josephinae'' and ''B. orientalis'' differ in having pedicels that curve below each flower. Just three species (''B. pulchra'', ''B. marginata'' and ''B. elandsmontana'') have compact, brush-like inflorescences. The flowers are
zygomorphic
Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts.
Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...
or almost
actinomorphic
Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts.
Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...
with short tube, segments spreading-recurved. The 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 of each flower are free to the base or shortly fused into a tube. Radially symmetrical, trumpet-shaped flowers occur in species with compact, dense inflorescences, whereas bilaterally symmetrical flowers occur in species with open, lax heads. In ''B. comptonii'', ''B. radula'' and ''B. namaquana'' the flowers are highly asymmetrical as all but one tepal curve upwards. Often the flowers are scented and all produce nectar. Their colour vary from ruby-red to brilliant scarlet or pale to bright pink and in some species the entire inflorescence is attractively coloured. Pink flowers are the norm, whereas red flowers are found in ''B. marginata'', ''B. orientalis'', ''B. litoralis'' and ''B. josephinae''. Floral markings are often variable within species but dark veins on the tepals are characteristic for ''B. bosmaniae'' and ''B. gregaria''. When in flower, the plants are spectacular but the flowering period is brief and restricted to summer and autumn.
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 ...
s clustered, arising from the
perianth
The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...
tube, ±
declinate
This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...
or erect, shortly
connate at base.
Stigma capitate
The capitate bone is a bone in the human wrist found in the center of the carpal bone region, located at the distal end of the radius and ulna bones. It articulates with the third metacarpal bone (the middle finger) and forms the third carpomet ...
, trilobate (three-lobed). Each
locule
A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus).
In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...
has 3-10 superimposed
ovule
In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the fe ...
s whose shape resembles a spinning top.
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 ...
filiform
Filiform, thread or filament like, can refer to:
* Filiform, a common term used in botany to describe a thread-like shape
*Filiform, or filiform catheter
In medicine, a catheter (/ˈkæθətər/) is a thin tubing (material), tube made from m ...
, declinate. The water-rich, non-dormant,
ovoid, reddish green seeds are borne in large, dry
capsules that are spindle-shaped or three-angled,
obtuse or
acute
Acute may refer to:
Science and technology
* Acute angle
** Acute triangle
** Acute, a leaf shape in the glossary of leaf morphology
* Acute (medicine), a disease that it is of short duration and of recent onset.
** Acute toxicity, the adverse eff ...
, transversally veined, and often heavily ribbed. Capsules are
dehiscent loculicidally or breaking unevenly. Dehiscence in most species of ''Brunsvigia'' is somewhat tardy and confined to the
apex
The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to:
Arts and media Fictional entities
* Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe
* Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe
*Apex, ...
of the capsule, hampered below by heavy ribs that keep the
septa
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
closed for most of their length.
[
] The number of
chromosome
A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...
s is 2''n'' = 22.
[
]
''Brunsvigia ''is the only genus of Amaryllideae in which several species have stout, somewhat tubular, brilliant scarlet, pink, or red flowers that are adapted to bird
pollination
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...
.
The genus ''Brunsvigia'' was named after the
House of Braunschweig Lüneburg">runswickLüneburg,
specifically honouring the
Duke of Brunswick
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
who promoted the study of plants, including the beautiful Cape species ''B. orientalis''. The name was first used in 1753 by
Lorenz Heister
Lorenz Heister (Latin: ''Laurentius Heister'') (19 September 1683 – 18 April 1758) was a German anatomist, surgeon and botanist born in Frankfurt am Main.
Biography
From 1702 to 1706 Heister studied at the Universities of Giessen and Wetz ...
, a German surgeon and botanist, to describe a single bulb received in 1748 by
Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff
Gustaaf Willem, Baron van Imhoff (8 August 1705 – 1 November 1750) was a Dutch colonial administrator for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He served as Governor of Ceylon from 1736 to 1740 and as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies fr ...
from
Ryk Tulbagh
Ryk Tulbagh (14 May 1699, Utrecht – 11 August 1771, Cape Town) was Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony from 27 February 1751 to 11 August 1771 under the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
Tulbagh was the son of Dirk Tulbagh and Catharina Catte ...
at the
Cape
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
.
Species:
Sanbi Red List of South African Plants, Species search: ''Brunsvigia''
/ref>
References
Bibliography
* R.A. Dyer, 1950: ''A review of the genus Brunsvigia''. Plant Life 6: 63-83
* R.A. Dyer, 1951: ''A review of the genus Brunsvigia''. Plant Life 7: 44-64
* C.A. Smith, 1966: ''Common names of South African plants''. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa No. 35. TheGovernment Printer, Pretoria
* R.S. Adamson, T.A. Salter (eds.), 1950: ''Flora of the Cape Peninsula''. Juta, Cape Town and Johannesburg
* J. Manning, P. Goldblatt, 2000: ''Wild flowers of the fairest Cape''. Red Roof Design in association with the Nationalotanical Institute, Cape Town
* E.G. Rice, R.H. Compton, 1950: ''Wild flowers of the Cape of Good Hope''. The Botanical Society of SA, Cape Town
* A. Pauw, S. Johnson, 1999: ''Table Mountain: a natural history''. Fernwood Press
* G.D. Duncan, 2000: ''Grow bulbs''. Kirstenbosch Gardening Series, National Botanical Institute, Cape Town
* G.D. Duncan, 2002: ''Grow nerines''. Kirstenbosch Gardening Series, National Botanical Institute, Cape Town
External links
*
*
Bulb Society gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q137385
Amaryllidaceae genera
Amaryllidoideae