''Hypoxis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 of the family

Hypoxidaceae Hypoxidaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The APG IV system of 2016 (unchanged from the 1998, 2003, and 2009 versions) recognizes this family. The family consists of four genera totalling som ...

. The genus has an " almost cosmopolitan" distribution, occurring in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Australia.Singh, Y. (Natal Herbarium, Durban)
''Hypoxis''.
PlantZAfrica.com: South African National Biodiversity Institute. 2004. Europe lacks native species.''Hypoxis''.
Flora of China. Most species are in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in southern Africa.''Hypoxis''.
Flora of North America. Common names for the genus include star-grass, star lily, yellow stars, African potato, and stars.''Hypoxis''.
FloraBase. Western Australian Herbarium. The genus is the largest of the Hypoxidaceae and has its centre of variation in South Africa, where it occurs in open undisturbed grasslands. The name ''Hypoxis'' was taken over by Linnaeus in 1759 from a name coined by Paul Reneaulme in 1611 for a superficially similar species of ''

Gagea ''Gagea'' is a large genus of spring flowers in the lily family. It is found primarily in Eurasia with a few species extending into North Africa and one species (''Gagea serotina'') in North America. The genus is named after the English natur ...

'' and meaning "a little sour", referring to the taste of that plant's leaves.

Description

These plants are perennial herbs with

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

s or rhizomes. Some have

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

s. The aboveground herbage is a layered cluster of lance-shaped, linear, or hairlike leaves, sometimes sheathed together at the bases. The blades are usually at least slightly hairy. The flowers are borne on a short, stemlike scape in a raceme or

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

arrangement, or sometimes singly. The flower has six yellow

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 which may be hairy, especially on the undersides. The undersides may also be whitish or tinged green or red. Occasional flowers have 4 or 8 tepals. The fruit is a capsule with a few to many small, oily seeds. The seeds are needed to identify many species. Most have seeds less than 2 millimeters long, so microscopic examination is required.

Uses

''Hypoxis'' plants have long played a role in

traditional African medicine Traditional African medicine is a range of traditional medicine disciplines involving indigenous herbalism and African spirituality, typically including diviners, midwives, and herbalists. Practitioners of traditional African medicine claim ...

; ''H. hemerocallidea'' and ''H. colchicifolia'' are the best known species used to make medicine and

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

s. The genus is not only used in traditional medicine, it has become important also in pharmaceutical preparations. Archaeological evidence found in ashes in Border Cave, South Africa has revealed that early humans roasted the rhizomes of some of the more palatable species of ''Hypoxis'' as long as 170,000 years ago.

Species

Sources have estimated 90 or 100 to 150Genus ''Hypoxis''.
New South Wales Flora Online. National Herbarium. Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. species in the genus. , 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 pla ...

recognized 90 species:Search for "Hypoxis", *'' Hypoxis abyssinica'' Hochst. *'' Hypoxis acuminata'' Baker *'' Hypoxis angustifolia'' Lam. *'' Hypoxis argentea'' Harv. ex Baker *'' Hypoxis arillacea'' R.J.F.Hend. *'' Hypoxis aurea'' Lour. *'' Hypoxis bampsiana'' Wiland *'' Hypoxis camerooniana'' Baker *'' Hypoxis canaliculata'' Baker *'' Hypoxis catamarcensis'' Brackett *'' Hypoxis colchicifolia'' Baker *'' Hypoxis colliculata'' Sánchez-Ken *'' Hypoxis costata'' Baker *'' Hypoxis cuanzensis'' Welw. ex Baker *'' Hypoxis curtissii'' Rose in J.K.Small – Curtiss' star-grass *'' Hypoxis decumbens'' L. *'' Hypoxis demissa'' Nel *'' Hypoxis dinteri'' Nel *'' Hypoxis domingensis'' Urb. *'' Hypoxis exaltata'' Nel *'' Hypoxis exilis'' R.J.F.Hend. – swamp star *'' Hypoxis filiformis'' Baker *'' Hypoxis fischeri'' Pax *'' Hypoxis flanaganii'' Baker *'' Hypoxis floccosa'' Baker *'' Hypoxis galpinii'' Baker *'' Hypoxis gardneri'' R.J.F.Hend. *'' Hypoxis gerrardii'' Baker *'' Hypoxis glabella'' R.Br. – star grass, tiny star *'' Hypoxis goetzei'' Harms *'' Hypoxis gregoriana'' Rendle *''

Hypoxis hemerocallidea ''Hypoxis hemerocallidea'', the African star grass or African potato, is a medicinal plant in the Hypoxidaceae family. It is native to southern Africa from South Africa as far north as Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This plant is the best known membe ...

'' Fisch. – African potato *'' Hypoxis hirsuta'' (L.) Coville – common goldstar *'' Hypoxis humilis'' Kunth *'' Hypoxis hygrometrica'' Labill. – golden weather-glass *'' Hypoxis interjecta'' Nel *''

Hypoxis juncea ''Hypoxis juncea'' (commonly known as fringed yellow star-grass and rushy hypoxis) is a star-grass species with leaves that are so narrow as to be comparable to thread. It is not a true grass, despite the common name. It is found in the United ...

'' Sm. – fringed yellow star-grass *'' Hypoxis kilimanjarica'' Baker *'' Hypoxis kraussiana'' Buchinger ex C.Krauss *'' Hypoxis lata'' Nel *'' Hypoxis lejolyana'' Wiland *'' Hypoxis leucotricha'' Fritsch *'' Hypoxis limicola'' B.L.Burtt *'' Hypoxis longifolia'' Baker *'' Hypoxis lucens'' McVaugh *'' Hypoxis ludwigii'' Baker *'' Hypoxis lusalensis'' Wiland *'' Hypoxis malaissei'' Wiland *'' Hypoxis marginata'' R.Br. *'' Hypoxis membranacea'' Baker *'' Hypoxis mexicana'' Schult. & Schult.f. – Mexican yellow star-grass *'' Hypoxis monanthos'' Baker *'' Hypoxis muhilensis'' Wiland *'' Hypoxis multiceps'' Buchinger ex Baker *'' Hypoxis neliana'' Schinz *'' Hypoxis nervosa'' R.J.F.Hend. *'' Hypoxis nivea'' Y.Singh *'' Hypoxis nyasica'' Baker *'' Hypoxis oblonga'' Nel *'' Hypoxis obtusa'' Burch. ex Ker Gawl. *'' Hypoxis occidentalis'' Benth. *'' Hypoxis oligophylla'' Baker *'' Hypoxis parvifolia'' Baker *'' Hypoxis parvula'' Baker *'' Hypoxis polystachya'' Welw. ex Baker *'' Hypoxis potosina'' Brackett *'' Hypoxis pratensis'' R.Br. *'' Hypoxis protrusa'' Nel *'' Hypoxis pulchella'' G.L.Nesom *'' Hypoxis rigida'' Chapm. *'' Hypoxis rigidula'' Baker *'' Hypoxis robusta'' Nel *'' Hypoxis sagittata'' Nel *'' Hypoxis salina'' M.Lyons & Keighery *'' Hypoxis schimperi'' Baker *'' Hypoxis sessilis'' L. *'' Hypoxis setosa'' Baker *'' Hypoxis sobolifera'' Jacq. *'' Hypoxis stellipilis'' Ker Gawl. *'' Hypoxis suffruticosa'' Nel *'' Hypoxis symoensiana'' Wiland *'' Hypoxis tepicensis'' Brackett *'' Hypoxis tetramera'' Hilliard & B.L.Burtt *'' Hypoxis uniflorata'' Markötter *'' Hypoxis upembensis'' Wiland *'' Hypoxis urceolata'' Nel *'' Hypoxis vaginata'' Schltdl. – yellow star *'' Hypoxis villosa'' L.f. *'' Hypoxis wrightii'' (Baker) Brackett *'' Hypoxis zeyheri'' Baker

Gallery

File:Fringed Yellow Stargrass (Hypoxis juncea) (6148269752).jpg, ''

'' File:Hypoxis hemerocallidea02.jpg, ''

'' File:Hairy Yellow Star Grass (4752131261).jpg, '' Hypoxis hirsuta''

References

External links

''Hypoxis''.
Red List of South African Plants. SANBI.
GRIN Species Records of ''Hypoxis''.
Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).
''Hypoxis''.
ITIS. {{Taxonbar, from=Q4308690 Asparagales genera