''Chionographis'' is a genus of plants in the

Melanthiaceae Melanthiaceae, also called the bunchflower family, is a family of flowering herbaceous perennial plants native to the Northern Hemisphere. Along with many other lilioid monocots, early authors considered members of this family to belong to the ...

first described as a genus in 1867. This genus is native to China, Japan, and Korea.Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 88 白丝草属 bai si cao shu ''Chionographis'' Maximowicz, Bull. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg. 11: 435. 1867.
/ref> ''Chionographis'' species are perennial flowering plants that grow from

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s. They produce a basal rosette of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

leaves, from the center of which emerges a flowering scape. The scape produces a spike of many small white flowers. 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 ...

in shape, and when perfect have six

tepals 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 ...

, one

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

, and six

stamens 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 ...

. However, not all individuals have perfect flowers. Many populations feature

gynodioecy Gynodioecy is a rare breeding system that is found in certain flowering plant species in which female and hermaphroditic plants coexist within a population. Gynodioecy is the evolutionary intermediate between hermaphroditism (exhibiting both fem ...

, and more rarely,

androdioecy Androdioecy is a reproductive system characterized by the coexistence of males and hermaphrodites. Androdioecy is rare in comparison with the other major reproductive systems: dioecy, gynodioecy and hermaphroditism. In animals, androdioecy has bee ...

. They are native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, and typically grow in moist places in the temperate forests' understory. ; species * ''

Chionographis chinensis ''Chionographis'' is a genus of plants in the Melanthiaceae first described as a genus in 1867. This genus is native to China, Japan, and Korea. ''Chionographis'' species are perennial flowering plants that grow from rhizomes. They produce a b ...

'' K.Krause -

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

* ''

Chionographis hisauchiana ''Chionographis'' is a genus of plants in the Melanthiaceae first described as a genus in 1867. This genus is native to China, Japan, and Korea. ''Chionographis'' species are perennial flowering plants that grow from rhizomes. They produce a b ...

'' (Okuyama) N.Tanaka -

* ''

Chionographis japonica ''Chionographis'' is a genus of plants in the Melanthiaceae first described as a genus in 1867. This genus is native to China, Japan, and Korea. ''Chionographis'' species are perennial flowering plants that grow from rhizomes. They produce a b ...

'' (Willd.) Maxim. -

, Jeju-do * ''

Chionographis koidzumiana ''Chionographis'' is a genus of plants in the Melanthiaceae first described as a genus in 1867. This genus is native to China, Japan, and Korea. ''Chionographis'' species are perennial flowering plants that grow from rhizomes. They produce a b ...

'' Ohwi -

* ''

Chionographis merrilliana ''Chionographis'' is a genus of plants in the Melanthiaceae first described as a genus in 1867. This genus is native to China, Japan, and Korea. ''Chionographis'' species are perennial flowering plants that grow from rhizomes. They produce a b ...

'' H.Hara -

* ''

Chionographis shiwandashanensis ''Chionographis'' is a genus of plants in the Melanthiaceae first described as a genus in 1867. This genus is native to China, Japan, and Korea. ''Chionographis'' species are perennial flowering plants that grow from rhizomes. They produce a b ...

'' Y.Feng Huang & R.H.Jiang -

References

External links

Flora of China treatment
Melanthiaceae Melanthiaceae genera {{Liliales-stub