Romulea

Romulea toximontana, copyright Dwergenpaartje.

Belongs within: Iridaceae.

Romulea, star-grass, is a genus of grass-like herbs found primarily in southern Africa with a smaller number of species extending into Europe (Healy & Edgar 1980).

Characters (from Healy & Edgar 1980): Summer-green perennial. Corm small; tunic hard, woody, brown, usually smooth. Stem often not protruding above ground or else hidden by sheathing leaf-bases, occasionally elongate. Leaves few, much longer than stems, channelled, filiform, terete or compressed-cylindrical. Scape 1–several, emerging successively. Flower solitary, terminal, actinomorphic, often brightly coloured, usually funnel-shaped, with two spathe-valves; tube usually very short; lobes usually equal, more or less spreading. Stamens symmetrical. Style-branches 3, usually deeply bifid. Capsule shortly cylindrical or ellipsoid, coriaceous. Seeds numerous, globose or angled.

<==Romulea Maratti 1802 [incl. Trichonema Ker Gawl. 1802] C-SCL16
    |  i. s.: R. alba MG06
    |         R. bulbocodium Y98
    |         R. hantamensis MG06
    |         R. rosea (Linnaeus) Ecklon 1827 HE80 [incl. R. longifolia H93]
    |           |--R. r. var. rosea HE80
    |           `--R. r. var. australis HE80
    |         R. stellata MG06
    |         R. syringodeoflora MG06
    |         R. tempskyana PT98
    `--R. subgen. Romulea sect. Ciliatae MG06
         |--R. kamisensis MG06
         |--R. namaquensis MG06
         |--R. singularis Manning & Goldblatt 2006 MG06
         `--R. toximontana MG06

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[C-SCL16] Cavalier-Smith, T., E. E. Chao & R. Lewis. 2016. 187-gene phylogeny of protozoan phylum Amoebozoa reveals a new class (Cutosea) of deep-branching, ultrastructurally unique, enveloped marine Lobosa and clarifies amoeba evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 99: 275–296.

[HE80] Healy, A. J., & E. Edgar. 1980. Flora of New Zealand vol. 3. Adventive cyperaceous, petalous and spathaceous monocotyledons. P. D. Hasselberg, Government Printer: Wellington (New Zealand).

[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).

[MG06] Manning, J. C., & P. Goldblatt. 2006. New species of Iridaceae from the Hantam-Roggeveld Centre of Endemism, and the Bokkeveld, Northern Cape, South Africa. Bothalia 36 (2): 139–145.

[PT98] Panitsa, M., & D. Tzanoudakis. 1998. Contribution to the study of the Greek flora: flora and vegetation of the E Aegean islands Agathonisi and Pharmakonisi. Willdenowia 28: 95–116.

[Y98] Yannitsaros, A. 1998. Additions to the flora of Kithira (Greece) I. Willdenowia 28: 77–94.