''Lachenalia viridiflora'', commonly known as the green-flowered Cape cowslip or turquoise hyacinth, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the asparagus family native to the southwest

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 ...

of South Africa. It was discovered in the 1960s, and first described in 1972 by

Winsome Fanny Barker Winsome Fanny Barker (23 September 1907 – 27 December 1994) was a South African botanist and plant collector noted for her work as Curator building the collection at the herbarium of the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, as well as her re ...

Description

''Lachenalia viridiflora'' is a

bulbous In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs durin ...

species of

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

that grows 8-20cm tall. Each plant grows two leaves, which may be plain or with dark spots. In the winter, plants produce

racemes A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

of tubular turquoise

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

with white tips; it is for this reason that Barker chose the

specific epithet 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 ...

'viridiflora', which is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for green-flowered. The flowers are pollinated by the

lesser double-collared sunbird The southern double-collared sunbird or lesser double-collared sunbird (''Cinnyris chalybeus'') is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Africa. It is mainly resident, but partially migratory in the north-east of its range. Habitat Th ...

Habitat and distribution

''Lachenalia viridiflora'' is endemic to the Vrendenburg Peninsula, where there are two extant sub-populations. It grows in full sun on granite outcrops in sandy soil which becomes waterlogged in the winter. ''Lachenalia viridiflora'' is an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

, and is threatened by habitat loss and overgrazing.

Cultivation

''Lachenalia viridiflora'' is cultivated as a garden ornamental, and has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. Plants can be propagated through

somatic embryogenesis Somatic embryogenesis is an artificial process in which a plant or embryo is derived from a single somatic cell. Somatic embryos are formed from plant cells that are not normally involved in the development of embryos, i.e. ordinary plant tissue. N ...

, leaf cuttings, and by sowing

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15520595 viridiflora Endemic flora of South Africa Plants described in 1972