Interesting Facts
Description
Genus Aletris
Herbs, perennial
, scapose
, rhizomatous
. Leaves in dense basal rosettes, clasping
erect
branches; blade
narrowly linear
to lanceolate, oblanceolate
, linear-elliptic, or elliptic
, flat, leathery, distal margins
fused to form subulate
tips
. Scape 2-10 dm. Inflorescences racemose. Flowers each subtended by 2 subulate, unequal bracts, short-pedicellate; perianth white, yellow, or golden orange, cylindrical, campanulate
, or obovoid
, abaxial
surfaces rough; tepals 6, connate
basally; stamens 6, included
; filaments
adnate
to perianth; anthers
oblong-lanceolate, longer
than filaments; ovary half inferior with proximal
portions of perianth adnate at maturity; style 3-branched at apex. Fruits capsular
, 3-locular, beaked
. Seeds amber, deeply sulcate
, ellipsoid
to ovoid
, 0.5-0.8 mm, lustrous
.
Species ca.
25: North America, West Indies (Bahamas), eastern Asia.
Some species of Aletris (e.g.
, A. lutea and A. obovata) are quickly eliminated unless habitats
are occasionally burned or otherwise kept clear of undergrowth.[1]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
()
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Spermatopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Liliidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Lilianae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Order:
Dioscoreales
()
- J.D. Hooker, in Le Maout & Decaisne, 1873
- Family:
Nartheciaceae
()
- Fr. ex Bjurzon, 1846
- Genus:
Aletris
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1753
- Colic-root, stargrass [Greek aletris, a female slave who ground corn, alluding to the mealy texture of the perianths]
- Specific epithet:
capitata
- F.T.Wang & Tang
- Botanical name: - Aletris capitata F.T.Wang & Tang
- Specific epithet:
capitata
- F.T.Wang & Tang
- Genus:
Aletris
(
- Family:
Nartheciaceae
(
- Order:
Dioscoreales
(
- Superorder:
Lilianae
(
- Subclass:
Liliidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
Publishing author
: F.T.Wang & Tang
Publication
: Fl.
Reipubl.
Popularis Sin. 15: 254 (1978)
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Last scrutiny: 06-Jan-2005
Similar Species
Members of the genus Aletris
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 7 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
A. aurea (Golden Colic-Root) · A. bracteata (Bracted Colicroot) · A. farinosa (Ague Root) · A. lutea (Yellow Colic-Root) · A. obovata (Southern Colicroot) · A. tottenii (Totten's Colicroot) · A. × tottenii (Totten's Colicroot)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Sullivan, V. I. 1973. Biosystematics of Aletris lutea Small, Aletris obovata Nash and natural hybrids. Brittonia 25: 294-303.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8476976
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-294685
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15608905
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:527488-1
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 527488-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1332612
Footnotes
- Victoria I. Sullivan "Aletris". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 51, 55, 56, 57, 64, 65, 67. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
