Sparaxis is a genus of flowering plants called the harlequin flowers. It belongs to the iris family Iridaceae with about 13 species endemic to Cape Province, South Africa.
| Sparaxis | |
|---|---|
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| Sparaxis bulbifera | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Subfamily: | Crocoideae |
| Tribe: | Croceae |
| Genus: | Sparaxis Ker Gawl. |
| Type species | |
| Sparaxis bulbifera (L.) Ker Gawler
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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All are perennials that grow during the wet winter season, flower in spring and survive underground as dormant corms over summer. Their conspicuous flowers have six tepals, which in most species are equal in size and shape.
Sparaxis bulbifera has flowers from cream to yellow or purple. Sparaxis grandiflora is a similar but larger plant. In cultivation in the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[2][3] Sparaxis tricolor has bright red flowers with yellow and black centres. Many named hybrid cultivars were bred from S. bulbifera and S. tricolor.
A group of species with asymmetrical flowers marked in mauve and yellow, including Sparaxis variegata and Sparaxis villosa, was formerly treated as the genus Synnotia.
The genus name is derived from the Greek word sparasso, meaning "to tear", and alludes to the shape of the floral bracts.[4]
Species
edit- Sparaxis auriculata Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
- Sparaxis bulbifera (L.) Ker Gawl.
- Sparaxis calcicola Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
- Sparaxis caryophyllacea Goldblatt
- Sparaxis elegans (Sweet) Goldblatt
- Sparaxis fragrans (Jacq.) Ker Gawl.
- Sparaxis galeata Ker Gawl.
- Sparaxis grandiflora (D.Delaroche) Ker Gawl.
- Sparaxis maculosa Goldblatt
- Sparaxis metelerkampiae (L.Bolus) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
- Sparaxis parviflora (G.J.Lewis) Goldblatt
- Sparaxis pillansii L.Bolus
- Sparaxis roxburghii (Baker) Goldblatt
- Sparaxis tricolor (Schneev.) Ker Gawl.
- Sparaxis variegata (Sweet) Goldblatt
- Sparaxis villosa (Burm.f.) Goldblatt
References
edit- ^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families". Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Sparaxis grandiflora". Retrieved 15 November 2018.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 99. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
- ^ Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 181–84. ISBN 978-0-88192-897-6.
External links
edit
Media related to Sparaxis at Wikimedia Commons- Goldblatt, P. (1999). Sparaxis. Flora of Southern Africa 7: 151–169.
- Flora of North America
