Ornithogalum maculatum
Ornithogalum maculatum is a plant of the genus Ornithogalum in the family of asparagus plants ( Asparagaceae ). The specific epithet maculatum comes from Latin and means speckled '.
Description
Ornithogalum maculatum grows with single, flat underground, inverted gyro- shaped onions with diameters of up to 4 centimeters. The white onion flakes are dry gray-brown. The two or three, rarely five, upright, linealischen, filiform to flat, glauken leaves appear with the flowers. The leaf blade is 2.5 to 15 inches long and 0.5 to 2 inches wide. The leaf tip is pointed or rarely ranking.
The upright, to achtblütige inflorescence reaches a length of 7 to 60 centimeters. The flower stem is terete. The ovoid - pointed bracts are up to 7 mm long. The flowers are up to 3 centimeters long pedicles. The orange to yellow perianth is star-shaped. The elliptic to obovate tepals are 10 to 25 mm long and 5-6 mm wide. The outer tepals are spotted black to its tip. The stamens are 7 to 8 millimeters long. Outer stamens are subulate, inner flattened. The 6 mm long ovary is elongated spherical. The stylus is 2 millimeters long.
The ellipsoidal fruits contain tiny seeds.
Systematics and distribution
Ornithogalum maculatum is common in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa in the Succulent Karoo in shallow soil pockets in quartzitic sandstone.
The first description by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin was published in 1789
Synonyms are Eliokarmos maculatus ( Jacq. ) Raf. (1837 ), Phaeocles maculata ( Jacq. ) Salisb. (1866, nom. Inval. ) And Eliokarmos neomaculatus Mart. - Azorin, MBCrespo & Juan ( 2011).