Watsonia (plant)
Watsonia tabularis in its natural habitat: Table Mountain, Cape Town.
Watsonia is a genus of flowering plants in the family of Iris Family ( Iridaceae ). The genus name honors the British botanist Sir William Watson. This genus comprises about 52 species, all of which are located in South Africa. Some species are invasive plants in some warmer countries of the world.
Description
Watsonia species are perennial herbaceous plants that form clumps and tubers. The stem is simple or branched. The long foliage leaves have a flat, lanceolate to lineal leaf blade.
They are upright, eared inflorescences with many flowers. The bracts are tinged with green, often red. The relatively short-lived, rarely fragrant hermaphrodite flowers are triple and usually zygomorphic. The six more or less equal bracts are fused into a tube, spread the top or almost upright position and mainly orange, red or pink, rarely white. The stylus is divided from about half its length into three thin stylus branches.
The globular, usually oblong capsule fruits contain several to many seeds. The light brown, angular seeds have one or two wings.
The set of chromosomes is n = 9
System
The genus name Watsonia was first published in 1758 by Philip Miller in Figures of Plants in the Gardeners Dictionary, 2, p 184. Is the type species Watsonia meriana ( L.) Mill synonyms for Watsonia Mill are: . Meriana Trew, Lomenia Pourr, Lemonia pers, Warneria million ex L., Neuberia Eckl, Callanthus Rchb ... ..
The genus Watsonia belongs to the tribe Watsonieae in the subfamily Crocoideae ( Syn: Ixioideae ) within the family Iridaceae.
There are about 52 species of Watsonia (selection):
- Watsonia aletroides Burm. f ) Ker Gawl, home. South Africa (Cape )
- Watsonia amabilis
- Watsonia amatolae
- Watsonia angusta Ker Gawl, home. South Africa (Cape, Natal )
- Watsonia bachmannii
- Watsonia bella
- Watsonia borbonica ( Pourr. ) Goldblatt, Origin: South Africa (Cape )
- Watsonia canaliculata
- Watsonia coccinea
- Watsonia confusa
- Watsonia densiflora Baker, Origin: South Africa (Natal, Orange Free State, Transvaal )
- Watsonia distans
- Watsonia dubia
- Watsonia elsiae
- Watsonia emiliae
- Watsonia fergusoniae
- Watsonia fourcadei
- Watsonia galpinii
- Watsonia gladioloides
- Watsonia humilis Mill, Origin: South Africa (Cape )
- Watsonia hysterantha
- Watsonia inclinata
- Watsonia knysnana
- Watsonia laccata
- Watsonia latifolia
- Watsonia lepida
- Watsonia marginata ( L. f ) Ker Gawl, home. South Africa (Western Cape )
- Watsonia marlothii
- Watsonia meriana ( L.) Mill home: South Africa (Cape)
- Watsonia minima
- Watsonia mtamvunae
- Watsonia occulta
- Watsonia paucifolia
- Watsonia pillansii L. Bolus, Origin: South Africa (Cape, Natal )
- Watsonia pondoensis
- Watsonia pulchra
- Watsonia rogersii
- Watsonia rourkei
- Watsonia schlechteri
- Watsonia spectabilis
- Watsonia stenosiphon
- Watsonia stokoei
- Watsonia strictiflora
- Watsonia strubeniae
- Watsonia tabularis J. W. Mathews & L. Bolus, Origin: South Africa (Cape )
- Watsonia transvaalensis
- Watsonia vanderspuyiae L. Bolus, Origin: South Africa (Cape )
- Watsonia versfeldii J. W. Mathews & L. Bolus, Origin: South Africa (Cape )
- Watsonia watsonioides ( Baker) Oberm, home. South Africa
- Watsonia wilmaniae Mathews & L. Bolus, Origin: South Africa
- Watsonia wilmsii L. Bolus, Origin: South Africa ( Transvaal )
- Watsonia zeyheri L. Bolus, Origin: South Africa
Pictures
Watsonia meriana:
Watsonia borbonica:
Swell
- Peter Goldblatt: Watsonia in the Flora of North America Volume 26, p 401: Online. (Section Description and systematics)
- Peter Goldblatt: The Genus Watsonia: A Systematic Monograph: IX, National Botanic Gardens, Cape, South Africa, 1989, p 1-148.
- Walter Erhardt et al: The big walleye. Encyclopedia of plant names. Volume 2 Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart, 2008. ISBN 978-3-8001-5406-7