''Sternbergia candida'' is a
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 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 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 ...
,
[Stevens, P.F. (2001 onwards]
"Asparagales: Amaryllidoideae"
''Angiosperm Phylogeny Website'', retrieved 2014-12-27 which is used as an
ornamental. It has white flowers which appear in spring.
Description
''Sternbergia candida'' is a rare plant which occurs only in south-west
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, where it grows at around 1100 m, on the edges of cedar woods. It was only discovered a few years before being named in 1979 (by
Brian Mathew
Brian Frederick Mathew MBE, VMH is a British botanist, born in the village of Limpsfield, Surrey, England. His particular area of expertise is bulbous plants, particularly ornamental bulbous plants, although he has contributed to other fiel ...
and
Turhan Baytop
Turhan Baytop (June 20, 1920 – June 25, 2002) was a Turkish botanist and pharmacist from Istanbul.
He was born on June 20, 1920, at Üsküdar, Istanbul. His father was a military officer and a keen amateur botanist.
He then started studying ...
). The slightly twisted grey-green leaves appear in late winter to early spring and are about 1 cm wide. White flowers follow the leaves, normally in January to February in their native habitat, on stems up to 20 cm. The flowers may be scented.
[, p. 157–158]
Cultivation
''Sternbergia candida'' is not reliably hardy in countries subject to frost and is then recommended for culture under the protection of at least a cold greenhouse or frame. It is propagated by bulb division.
[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7611552
Amaryllidoideae