''Phycella'' is a genus of

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial 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 ...

bulbous

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 ...

s belonging to the family

Amaryllidaceae 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 fa ...

, 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 ...

. The genus consists of five species distributed from central

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

to northwestern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Taxonomy

The genus was described by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

in 1825. After further examining specimens of ''Amaryllis ignea'' (see illustration) that he had described the previous year as '' Amaryllis'', with some reservation, Lindley concluded they were a separate genus, naming two species, ''P. ignea'', and ''P. cyrtanthoides'' (previously ''A. cyrtanthoides''). Subsequently, it was considered these were the same plant, and ''P. ignea'' was reassigned to a synonym for ''P. cyrtanthoides''.

Phylogeny

''Phycella'' is located in the American (Hippeastroid) clade of the Amaryllidoideaetribe, where it is placed in tribe

Hippeastreae Hippeastreae is a tribe of plants belonging to the subfamily Amaryllidoideae of the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). Species in this tribe are distributed in South America. Flowers are large and showy, zygomorphic, with the stamens in varying ...

, subtribe

Traubiinae '' Phycella cyrtanthoides'' Traubiinae is a subtribe of plants classified under the tribe Hippeastreae. It belongs to the subfamily Amaryllidoideae of the Amaryllis family ( Amaryllidaceae). Description Bulbous perennial herbaceous plants ...

. In molecular phylogenetic analysis, ''Phycella'' forms a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to the remainder of the Hippeastreae. In 1996 the Müller-Doblies' had situated it in subtribe Hippeastrinae based on morphological criteria, by submerging it in ''

Hippeastrum ''Hippeastrum'' () is a genus of about 90 species and over 600 hybrids and cultivars of perennial herbaceous bulbous plants. They generally have large fleshy bulbs and tall broad leaves, generally evergreen, and large red or purple flowers. ...

''. A detailed study of in-depth relations within Hippeastreae revealed a more complicated situation wit regard to the Chilean-Argentinian taxa which had not been well represented in earlier studies. There was strong support for two major clades, representing two subtribes, with ''Phycella'' and three other genera (but not ''Hippeastrum'') forming the Traubiinae. This study also showed that one species of ''

Famatina Famatina is a town in the province of La Rioja, Argentina. It has 6,371 inhabitants as per the , and is the only municipality in the Famatina Department. Located in fertile valley between Sierra de Famatina and Sierra de Velasco Famatina's econ ...

'' (''F. maulensis'') segregated with ''Phycella'', and was therefore submerged in it as '' Phycella herbertiana''. By contrast the remaining three ''Famatina'' species segregated with ''

Rhodophiala ''Rhodophiala'' was a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae). It consisted of about 30 South American species distributed in southern Brazil, Argentina, and, specially ...

'' and were therefore grouped in Hippeastrinae together with ''Hippeastrum''. Consequently, ''Famatina'' has been extinguished as separate genus. The genus ''Placea'' was also submerged in ''Phycella'', resulting in about 13 species in total.

Subdivision

13–14 species are described: * '' Phycella amoena'' Nic.García

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

''Placea amoena'' * '' Phycella arzae'' (Phil.) Nic.García syn. ''Placea arzae'' * '' Phycella australis''

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

* '' Phycella brevituba'' Herb. * '' Phycella chilensis'' (L’Hér.) Grau ex Nic.García syn. ''Amaryllis chilensis'' L’Hér. * '' Phycella cyrtanthoides'' ( Sims)

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

* ''

Phycella davidii ''Phycella'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial bulbous flowering plants belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. The genus consists of five species distributed from central Chile to northwestern Argentina. Taxonomy ...

'' (Ravenna) Nic.García syn. ''Placea davidii'' * '' Phycella fulgens'' (Hook.f.) Nic.García, syn. ''Habranthus fulgens'' Hook.f. * '' Phycella germainii'' (Phil.) Nic.García syn. ''Placea germainii'' Phil. * '' Phycella herbertiana'' Lindl.

''Famatina maulensis'' Ravenna * '' Phycella lutea'' (Phil.) Nic.García ''Placea lutea'' Phil. * ''

Phycella maulensis ''Phycella'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial bulbous flowering plants belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. The genus consists of five species distributed from central Chile to northwestern Argentina. Taxonom ...

'' (Ravenna) Nic.García & J.M.Watson syn. ''Famatina maulensis'' Ravenna * '' Phycella ornata'' (Miers) Nic.García syn. ''Placea ornata'' Miers * '' Phycella scarlatina'' Ravenna Pl. Life 37: 69 (1981)

References

Bibliography

* The International Plant Names Inde
''Phycella''
* * * * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q9059179 Amaryllidoideae Amaryllidaceae genera