Common Names
Common Names in English:
Fairy Bells
Description
Family Iridaceae
Herbs perennial
(or shrubs
or annuals
), with rhizomes, bulbs, or corms. Leaves alternate, often 2-ranked, often oriented edgewise to aerial
stem, usually sword-shaped
to linear
, parallel veined, base
sheathing
. Inflorescence sometimes a spike or reduced to a solitary flower, more often of monochasial
, umbellate
cymes, each enclosed in 2 opposed bracts (spathes
) and termed a rhipidium, which may be solitary and terminal
or numerous
and variously arranged in racemes
or panicles; bracts 1 to several. Flowers bisexual
, showy, usually actinomorphic
(often zygomorphic elsewhere) . Perianth segments 6, in 2 whorls, inner and outer ones equal or differing in size and/or color; tube
filiform
or trumpet-shaped. Stamens (2 or) 3; anthers
extrorse
. Ovary inferior (or superior), 3-loculed; ovules few to many; placentation axile
. Style with filiform, slender, or petaloid
branches. Fruit a loculicidal capsule. Seeds with or without aril and wings.
Between 70 and 80 genera and ca.
1800 species: nearly worldwide, especially S Africa, Asia, and Europe; three genera and 61 species (21 endemic, one introduced
) in China.[1]
Physical Description
Flowers: Bloom Period: March. • Flower Color: pale yellow
Size/Age/Growth
Size: 12-18" tall.
Biology
Growth
Culture: Space 3-6" apart.
Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8
Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade.
Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9b. (map)
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- 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:
Liliopsida
()
- Scopoli, 1760
- Subclass:
Liliidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Lilianae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Order:
Iridales
()
- Dumortier, 1829
- Family:
Iridaceae
()
- A.l. De Jussieu, 1789
- Iris Family
- Tribe:
Verbeneae
()
- Genus:
Melasphaerula
()
- Linnaeus, 1753
- Specific epithet:
ramosa
- ((L.)) N. E. Br.
- Botanical name: - Melasphaerula ramosa
- Specific epithet:
ramosa
- ((L.)) N. E. Br.
- Genus:
Melasphaerula
(
- Tribe:
Verbeneae
(
- Family:
Iridaceae
(
- Order:
Iridales
(
- Superorder:
Lilianae
(
- Subclass:
Liliidae
(
- Class:
Liliopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
A tentatively accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.
Similar Species
Members of the genus Melasphaerula
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
M. graminea · M. ramosa (Fairy Bells)
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
- Innes, Clive (1985a): The world of Iridaceae, Ashington: Holly Gate International
- Zhao Yu-tang. 1985. Iridaceae. In: Pei Chien & Ting Chih-tsun, eds., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 16(1): 120--198.
Notes
Contributors
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 04, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 04, 2008:
- Missouri Botanical Garden
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5974485
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:439966-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 753929
Footnotes
- Yu-tang Zhao, Henry J. Noltie & Brian F. Mathew "Iridaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 297. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
