Melasphaerula

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Curtis's botanical magazine (No. 615) (8317233979).jpg

| display_parents = 3

| genus = Melasphaerula

| parent_authority = Ker Gawl.

| species = graminea

| authority = (L.f.) Ker Gawl.

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms =

• Gladiolus gramineus L.f.
• Diasia graminifolia DC.
• Diasia iridifolia DC.
• Melasphaerula intermedia Sweet
• Melasphaerula parviflora G.Lodd.
• Melasphaerula iridifolia Sweet
• Diasia intermedia Heynh.
• Diasia parviflora (G.Lodd.) Steud.

}}

Melasphaerula is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1803. There is only one known species, Melasphaerula graminea, native to Namibia and the Cape Province in South Africa.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=323761 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]

The genus name is derived from the Greek words melas, meaning "black", and sphaerulos, meaning "small sphere".{{cite book |author1=Manning, John |author2=Goldblatt, Peter |title=The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification |publisher=Timber Press |location=Portland, Oregon|pages=142–44 |year=2008|isbn=978-0-88192-897-6}}

Some sources use the name Melasphaerula parviflora for the species, not accepting Melasphaerula graminea.Innes, C. (1985). The World of Iridaceae: 1-407. Holly Gare International Ltd., AshingtonGermishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14.: i-vi, 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria