Streptolirion

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image =

|image_caption =

|display_parents = 3

|taxon = Streptolirion

|authority = Edgew.

|subdivision_ranks = Species

|subdivision =

• Streptolirion lineare {{small|Fukuoka & N.Kurosaki}}
• Streptolirion volubile {{small|Edgew.}}

|subdivision_ref = {{cite web |title=Streptolirion Edgew. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:7345-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=21 March 2025}}

}}

Streptolirion is a genus of flowering plants in the family Commelinaceae. It includes two species native to Asia, ranging from Japan and Manchuria to Indochina and the Himalayas.

• Streptolirion lineare {{small|Fukuoka & N.Kurosaki}} – Japan
• Streptolirion volubile {{small|Edgew.}} – Japan and Manchuria to Indochina and the Himalayas

Streptolirion can be distinguished from the closely related climber Spatholirion by the former's two-seeded carpels and inflorescences that are all subtended by large involucral bracts.{{Citation| last =Hong| first =Deyuan; DeFillipps, Robert A.| contribution =Streptolirion| year =2000| title =Flora of China| editor-last =Wu| editor-first =Z. Y.; Raven, P.H.; Hong, D.Y.| volume =24| page =20| place=Beijing| publisher =Science Press; St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press| contribution-url =http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=131707}} They bear yellow hairs below the anthers, which are believed to increase floral attraction by contrasting with the petals or suggesting additional pollen is present.{{Citation| last=Faden| first=Robert B.| title=Floral Attraction and Floral Hairs in the Commelinaceae| volume=79| number=1| journal=Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden| year=1992| pages=46–52| doi=10.2307/2399808| jstor=2399808| url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/26739}}

The genus was first described in 1845 by Michael Pakenham Edgeworth and included a single species, Streptolirion volubile. An analysis of chromosomes found major differences between Japanese and Indian populations, suggesting that an additional species might exist.{{Citation| last1=Suda| first1=Yutaka| last2=Faden| first2=Robert B.| journal= Journal of Plant Research| volume=93| issue=4| pages=355–359| year=1980| title=The karyotype of Streptolirion volubile Edgeworth (Commelinaceae) from Japan| doi=10.1007/bf02488739| s2cid=23626501}} In 1991 Nobuyuki Fukuoka and Nobuhira Kurosaki designated the Japanese population as a new species, Streptolirion lineare.{{cite web |title=Streptolirion lineare Fukuoka & N.Kurosaki |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:959530-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=21 March 2025}}