''Calostemma'' is a small
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 ...
), commonly known as Wilcannia Lily. It consists of three
species endemic to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, where they are distributed in arid regions with summer precipitation.
Description
Members of ''Calostemma'' often flowers in a leafless state, the narrow, shining-green, strap-like leaves usually preceding flowering and reaching a length of 25–30 cm.
Flower colour is a purplish red or yellow with a tube sometimes paler and the
anther
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 filam ...
s yellow.
Species
The list of ''Calostemma '' 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: ''Calostemma ''
Accessed May 26, 2009.
*''
Calostemma abdicatum''
P.J.Lang, distributed in
South Australia.
*''
Calostemma luteum''
Sims, from Center
Queensland to South Australia.
*''
Calostemma purpureum''
R.Br.,
[Prodr.: 298 (1810).] South Central and South Eastern Australia.
Uses
Due to their large and showy flowers, members of this genus are used as
ornamental plants
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 ...
.
References
Bibliography
*Cooper, H.M. 1971. Notes and observations on ''Calostemma purpureum''. S. Austral. Nat. 45(4): 112–114.
*Clark, T., Parsons, R.F. 1994. Ecology of ''Calostemma'' and ''Crinum'' (Amaryllidaceae) in the River Murray area, south-eastern Australia. Proc. Roy. Soc. Victoria 106: 129–145.
External links
Flowers of ''Calostemma lutea''
Amaryllidaceae genera
Amaryllidoideae
Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)
{{Amaryllidaceae-stub