''Ipheion uniflorum'' is a species of flowering plant, related to the onions, so is placed in the allium subfamily (Allioideae) of the

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 ...

. It is known by the common name springstar, or spring starflower. Along with all the species of the genus ''Ipheion'', some sources place it in the genus ''

Tristagma ''Tristagma'' is a genus of South American plants in the onion subfamily with the Amaryllis family. It is native to South America (Peru, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay) but one of the species ''( T. uniflorum)'' has become naturalized in various ...

'', but research published in 2010 suggested that this is not correct. It is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to Argentina and Uruguay, but is widely cultivated as an ornamental and reportedly naturalized in Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Description

This is a small

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 ...

growing from 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 ...

and producing flat, shiny, green, hairless, grasslike leaves up to long. The foliage has an

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

like scent when crushed. The stem grows up to tall and bears a solitary showy flower in spring (hence the Latin name ''uniflorum'' - "single flower"). Each honey-scented, star-shaped flower has six pointed lobes up to 3 centimeters long in shades of very pale to deep purple-blue.

Cultivation

''Ipheion uniflorum'' has been grown in the UK since 1820, when bulbs collected from near Buenos Aires arrived in the country. It is recommended for growing in a well-drained position outside or as long-flowering pot plant in an unheated greenhouse. Various named forms are in cultivation, some of which may be hybrids. 'Wisley Blue' is a clear lilac blue; 'Froyle Mill' is a deeper violet blue; 'Album' is white. The cultivar 'Alberto Castillo', also white, has larger flowers and was collected in the 1980s by Alberto Castillo, the owner of Ezeiza Botanical Garden, from an abandoned Buenos Aires garden. In the USA, the species is stated to be hardy to

USDA Zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

5, and is recommended for massing in borders, alpine gardens and other areas, or it can be naturalized in lawns. The following

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

have 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 ...

:- *’Alberto Castillo’ *'Froyle Mill' *'Rolf Fiedler' *'

Wisley __NOTOC__ Wisley is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England between Cobham and Woking, in the Borough of Guildford. It is the home of the Royal Horticultural Society's Wisley Garden. The River Wey runs through the village and Ockham and ...

Blue'

Media

File:Tristagma-uniflorum-2008-05-04_at_18-21-01.jpg File: Vårlilja (Ipheion uniflorum).jpg File:Ipheion uniflorum Alberto Castillo.jpg, 'Alberto Castillo' File:Tristagma uniflorum Rolf Feidler closeup.jpg, Closeup of 'Rolf Fiedler'

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1306144 Allioideae Flora of Argentina Flora of Uruguay Flora of Australia Flora of New Zealand Flora of France Flora of Great Britain Plants described in 1830 Garden plants of South America