''Griffinia'' is a genus of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian plants in the

Amaryllis family 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 fami ...

, 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 includes 21 known species which are endemic to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. The most closely related genus to it is the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

'' Worsleya''. The members of the genus ''Griffinia'' are tropical, bulbous plants which grow in high levels of humidity. The leaves are green, petiolate, elliptical, sometimes with white speckles on them. The flowers are typical for the tribe - lilac or blue colored (although there are also white - colored species) and collected into an

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 ...

. Many of the members in this genus are endangered because of the

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

of their habitat.Preuss, Kevin D. 2000. The Genus ''Griffinia'' Ker Gawler (Amaryllidaceae), Revisited. Herbertia 54(1999): 51-66.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Griffinia'' includes 2 subgenera and 21 known species.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> *Subgenus ''Griffinia'' - includes the typical blue-flowering members of the genus. *Subgenus ''Hyline'' - includes white - flowering, fragrant members. **'' Griffinia nocturna'' **'' Griffinia gardneriana''

References

Amaryllidaceae genera Amaryllidoideae Endemic flora of Brazil {{Amaryllidaceae-stub