Sparaxis

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Genus of flowering plants

title: "Sparaxis" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["iridaceae-genera", "sparaxis", "endemic-flora-of-the-cape-provinces"] description: "Genus of flowering plants" topic_path: "general/iridaceae-genera" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparaxis" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of flowering plants ::

|image = Sparaxis bulbifera (Flower) 2.jpg |image_caption = Sparaxis bulbifera |display_parents = 2 |taxon = Sparaxis |authority = Ker Gawl. |type_species = Sparaxis bulbifera |type_species_authority = (L.) Ker Gawler |synonyms = *Anactorion Raf.

  • ×Sparanthera Cif. & Giacom.
  • Streptanthera Sweet
  • Synnotia Sweet |synonyms_ref = {{cite web |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=324747 |title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |accessdate=April 23, 2016}}

Sparaxis is a genus of flowering plants called the harlequin flowers. It belongs to the iris family Iridaceae with about 13 species endemic to Cape Province, South Africa.

All are perennials that grow during the wet winter season, flower in spring and survive underground as dormant corms over summer. Their conspicuous flowers have six tepals, which in most species are equal in size and shape.

Sparaxis bulbifera has flowers from cream to yellow or purple. Sparaxis grandiflora is a similar but larger plant. In cultivation in the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web | url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/22441/i-Sparaxis-grandiflora-i/Details | title=RHS Plantfinder - Sparaxis grandiflora | accessdate=15 November 2018}}{{cite web | url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title=AGM Plants - Ornamental | date=July 2017 | page=99 | publisher=Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate=15 November 2018}} Sparaxis tricolor has bright red flowers with yellow and black centres. Many named hybrid cultivars were bred from S. bulbifera and S. tricolor.

A group of species with asymmetrical flowers marked in mauve and yellow, including Sparaxis variegata and Sparaxis villosa, was formerly treated as the genus Synnotia.

The genus name is derived from the Greek word sparasso, meaning "to tear", and alludes to the shape of the floral bracts.

Species

References

References

  1. (2008). "The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification". Timber Press.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

iridaceae-generasparaxisendemic-flora-of-the-cape-provinces