''Merwilla'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

bulb 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 duri ...

ous flowering plants in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, ''Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate c ...

, subfamily

Scilloideae Scilloideae (named after the genus ''Scilla'', "squill") is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family ''Asparagaceae''. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus ''Hyacinthus''. Scilloideae or ...

(also treated as the family Hyacinthaceae).Stevens, P.F. (2001 onwards),
Asparagales: Scilloideae
, ''Angiosperm Phylogeny Website'', retrieved 2014-02-25 It is distributed in southern Africa, from

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

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 ...

. This genus is named after the botanist Frederick Ziervogel Van der Merwe (1894–1968), who worked on this group. List of South African plant botanical authors#V

Description

Species of ''Merwilla'' grow from relatively large

s, the upper part of which is usually above ground. The bulbs have light yellow to gray tunics. Plants have broad leaves. The flowers are borne in a

raceme 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 ...

. Each flower has six blue

tepal 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 ...

s, forming a star shape. The

stamen 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 ...

s have white filaments which are joined at the base and small anthers. The oblong seeds are brownish when dry, paler when fresh. The seed colour distinguishes ''Merwilla'' from related genera, which have glossy black or dark brown seeds.

Systematics

The genus ''Merwilla'' was created by

Franz Speta Franz Speta (22 December 1941 – 5 December 2015) was an Austrian botanist. He specialized in bulbous plants, especially the Hyacinthaceae. Career Speta worked as an apprentice for a clerk. He then studied at the University of Vienna in the Dep ...

in 1998 for some species formerly included in '' Scilla''. The genus is placed in the tribe Hyacintheae (or the subfamily Hyacinthoideae by those who use the family Hyacinthaceae).

Species

, the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected plan ...

recognized the following

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. All three were formerly placed in the genus '' Scilla''.Search for "Merwilla", * '' Merwilla dracomontana'' (Hilliard & B.L.Burtt) Speta * '' Merwilla lazulina'' (Wild) Speta * '' Merwilla plumbea'' (Lindl.) Speta

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9031840 Asparagaceae genera Scilloideae