''Caliphruria'' is a genus of

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

, perennial and

bulbous plants Bulb or Bulbs may refer to: Common uses * Bulb, a food-storage structure within some plants ** Ornamental bulb, a kind of perennial plant * Light bulb, an electric lamp Maritime * Bulb keel, a type of keel * Bulbous bow, a part that sticks ou ...

in the Amaryllis 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 ...

.) The four species grow in tropical areas of South America, with three endemic to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, but are rare in the wild. This genus is closely related with the genera '' Eucharis'' and '' Urceolina,'' all of them known colloquially as "Amazon Lilies".

Species

The list of ''Caliphruria'' species, with their complete

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

and authority, is given below.Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
World Checklist of Monocotyledons: ''Caliphruria''
Accessed May 16, 2009. *†'' Caliphruria hartwegiana'' Herb., distributed in northwestern

. *'' Caliphruria korsakoffii'' (

Traub Traub is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Andrew Traub (born 1988), Scottish football defender *Barbara Traub, American photographer *Charles H. Traub (born 1945), American photographer and educator * Daniel Traub (born 1 ...

) Meerow, from North Central Peru. (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

: ''Eucharis korsakoffii'' Traub.) *'' Caliphruria subedentata''

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

, from northwestern

. *†'' Caliphruria tenera'' Baker, from

( Cundinamarca).

Distribution and habitat

The genus is restricted in distribution to the Cordillera Occidental and

Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands. Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges: * Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America ** ...

. The species of ''Caliphruria'' are rain forest geophytes adapted to the low light conditions of the forest understory.

Conservation status

Many of the species of the genus are endangered. ''Caliphruria korsakoffii'', from Peru, is very infrequent; '' Caliphruria hartwegiana'' and '' Caliphruria subedentata'' are threatened by extinction; and '' Caliphruria tenera'' is listed as extinct.

Uses

''Caliphruria korsakoffii'' and ''C. subedentata'' are cultivated as ornamental plants.

References

External links

Images of various species of ''Caliphruria'' from Pacific Bulb Society
Amaryllidoideae Amaryllidaceae genera Flora of South America {{Amaryllidaceae-stub