Lapeirousia spinosa (Goldblatt) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Iridaceae > Lapeirousia

Characteristics

Plants 50-90(-140) mm high. Corm ± bell-shaped (to ± obconic), 9-15 mm diam., 20-40 mm below ground; tunics blackish, often glossy, basal rim with prominent horizontal spines. Stem ± erect, sometimes branched at base, somewhat compressed but not often angled; without cormlets at nodes below ground. Leaves 3 or 4 (or more if plants branched), lowermost usually longest, usually shortly exceeding stem, linear to narrowly lanceolate, ascending or falcate, 2-4 mm wide, strongly corrugately ribbed; remaining leaves shorter and progressively more bract-like above, ribs weakly or not developed. Inflorescences spikes of (3-)5 to 9 flowers, usually moderately crowded; outer bract green or flushed reddish below, firm, 12-20(-35) mm long, enclosing slender part of tube, veins transparent, margins narrowly hyaline; channelled below, lightly keeled in upper 1/2, keels minutely serrated or crisped; inner bract up to 1/2 as long as outer, 2-keeled, with broad transparent margins. Flowers zygomorphic, white or flushed pink to lilac (more so with age and when dry), lower tepals yellow below and each with one or two purple median marks near limb base, bearing basal tooth-like ridge ± 2 mm long, lightly sweet-scented; perianth tube 9-12 mm long (shorter in dried material), narrow below, curved and widening above; tepals unequal, lanceolate, acute, dorsal largest, 18-23 x 7-8 mm, erect, held apart from others, lower margins undulate or lightly crisped, upper lateral tepals united with lower 3 for ± 5 mm, directed forward below, reflexed distally, lower 3 tepals horizontal below, limbs 12-14 x 7-8 mm, flexed sharply downward at ± 45°, margins undulate. Stamens unilateral and arcuate; filaments 9-12 mm long, exserted 7-9 mm from tube; anthers parallel, 4-6 mm long, white; pollen white. Style arching over stamens, dividing between base and middle of anthers; branches 4-5 mm long, forked for slightly more than 1/2 their length, recurved. Capsules ovoid, 6-7 mm long, with auricular lobes above locules. Seeds globose, ± 1.2 mm diam., flattened at chalazal end, smooth, brown.
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Cormous geophyte, mostly 50-90 mm tall, stems simple or branching from base, corm tunics blackish, margins with horizontal spines. Leaves linear to sword-shaped, ribbed. Flowers in a few-flowered spike, cream, fragrant, lower tepals each with a median tooth, bracts short, keeled.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.05 - 0.09
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture 5-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 12 - 15
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Lapeirousia spinosa world distribution map, present in South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:980682-1
WFO ID wfo-0000784604
COL ID 3S8V5
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Lapeirousia spinosa Lapeirousia divaricata var. spinosa