''Gethyllis'' (probably from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''"gethyon"'', bulb), commonly called Kukumakranka, Koekemakranka, or Kroekemakrank, is a genus of bulbous plant in the Amaryllid family with some 33 accepted species.. It is native 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 ...

, the

Northern Provinces The Northern 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 "TVL". It includes the S ...

and the Free State of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, as well as

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Description

The fragrant, solitary, white flower appears late December. Flowering is well-synchronised to increase the odds of cross-pollination, the genus being incapable of self-fertilisation. Triggering of mass flowering is thought to result from a sudden change in barometric pressure. Some three months later the edible, scented creamy-white to orange-yellow to rich burgundy-red, club-shaped fruit starts pushing above the soil surface. The inferior ovary is located well below ground-level where the developing fruit or berry is hidden until its growth forces it into view. Emergence of the fruit is followed almost immediately by the first leaves. The ripe fruit falls over and sheds its short-lived seeds, ready to take advantage of the winter rains. The genus is easily identified by its spirally twisted grey-green, strap-like leaves which develop during the winter months (May - August). The ripe fruit is sometimes used to impart its special aroma to bottles of

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

Taxonomy

This winter-growing genus is closely related to ''

Apodolirion ''Apodolirion'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the Amaryllis family ( Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae). It consists of 6 species distributed in South Africa. The name ''Apodolirion'' comes from the Greek an ...

'' , which has 6 species found in both summer and winter regions, ranging from the Southern Cape to the summer-rainfall area of the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. The two genera together constitute the

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plant ...

Gethyllidinae. ;SpeciesSanbi Red List of South African Plants, genus Gethyllis
/ref> ;Formerly included A few names have been coined using the name ''Gethyllis'', but referring to species now considered better suited to other genera ''(

Curculigo ''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in ...

Empodium ''Empodium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1866. It grows from a small corm which produces lance-shaped or pleated and sometimes hairy, star-shaped flowers and leaves with long in Autumn season. Th ...

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Distribution and habitat

''Gethyllis'' has an extensive distribution covering the winter-rainfall area of the southern portion of

and throughout the Cape Provinces, with the Vanrhynsdorp-Nieuwoudtville region showing the greatest species diversity.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

''Gethyllis'' links''Gethyllis'' images''Gethyllis'' images
{{Taxonbar, from=Q149261 Amaryllidaceae genera Amaryllidoideae Flora of Southern Africa