Strumaria

{{Short description|Genus of plants}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Strumaria watermeyeri01.jpg

|image_caption = Strumaria watermeyeri, in habitat near Nieuwoudtville, South Africa

|taxon = Strumaria

|authority=Jacq.

|synonyms_ref = {{Citation |title=Strumaria|work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=288060|accessdate=2013-09-03}}

|synonyms=

  • Carpolyza Salisb.
  • Hessea P.J.Bergius ex Schltdl. 1826, rejected homononym not Herb. 1837
  • Nesynstylis Raf.
  • Eudolon Salisb.
  • Gemmaria Salisb.
  • Hymenetron Salisb.
  • Pugionella Salisb.
  • Stylago Salisb.
  • Bokkeveldia D.Müll.-Doblies & U.Müll.-Doblies
  • Tedingea D.Müll.-Doblies & U.Müll.-Doblies

|type_species = Strumaria truncata Jacq.

}}

File:Hessea gemmata1.jpg in cultivation]]

Strumaria is a genus of African plants in Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae.{{citation |last=Stevens |first=P.F. |title=Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Amaryllidoideae |url=http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/orders/asparagalesweb.htm#AllAma }} The genus is known in nature only from South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia.{{citation |last1=Germishuizen |first1=G. |last2=Meyer |first2=N.L. |date=2003 |title=Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist |journal=Strelitzia |volume=14 |issue=i-vi |pages=1–1231 |publisher=National Botanical Institute, Pretoria}} Almost all species flower in the autumn and are cultivated as ornamental bulbous plants.

Description

Species of Strumaria are deciduous bulbous plants. Their bulbs are generally small, around {{cvt|7|–|35|mm|in|1}} in diameter with a fibrous bulb tunic. Usually two leaves are produced, although there may be up to six. The flowers generally appear in the autumn with the arrival of the rains; the leaves may appear before, with, or after the flowers. The inflorescence is {{cvt|20|–|40|cm|in|0}} tall, with an umbel of two to 30 flowers, generally carried on long pedicels. Most species have white flowers, although they may also be pink or yellow. The six stamens are joined to the style, at least at the base. Strumaria is distinguished from other genera in the family Amaryllidaceae by the presence of a thickening at the base of the style, except in Strumaria spiralis, previously placed in its own genus Carpolyza. The seeds are reddish-green when ripe, with a diameter of {{cvt|2|–|5|mm|in|1}}. When dry, the fruiting heads detach from the scape and are rolled away by the wind, thus dispersing the seeds.

Taxonomy

It was published by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1797.Strumaria Jacq. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1646-1 The lectotype species is Strumaria truncata {{small|Jacq.}}Missouri Botanical Garden. (n.d.-i). Strumaria Jacq. Tropicos. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://www.tropicos.org/name/100262858

=Species=

Accepted ({{As of|2022|April|lc=yes}}):{{Citation |contribution=Search for Strumaria|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |contribution-url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do?plantName=Strumaria |accessdate=2022-04-02 }}[http://redlist.sanbi.org/search.php?sppsearch=Strumaria+ South African National Biodiversity Institute, Red List of South African Plants, genus Strumaria]

{{Div col}}

{{Div col end}}

;Formerly included

A few names have been coined using the name Strumaria, applied to species now considered better suited to other genera (Hessea and Libertia).

Distribution and habitat

Species of Strumaria are native to South Africa (the Cape Provinces and the Free State), Lesotho and Namibia. All but one species are found in the winter rainfall area of Southern Africa, to the west and southwest, with the highest concentration in the highlands of Namaqualand. The exception is Strumaria tenella subsp. orientalis, found to the east in the Free State and Lesotho.

Cultivation

Some Strumaria species are cultivated as ornamental bulbous plants, particularly for their autumn flowering period. Although they will survive a minimum temperature of {{cvt|0|C|F|0}}, a higher minimum of {{cvt|8|C|F|0}} is recommended, for example in a cool greenhouse. The medium in which they are grown needs to be free-draining. They can be propagated from seeds, which lack dormancy and so need to be sown as soon as possible after being shed.

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{citation |mode=cs2 |last=Grossi |first=Alberto |date=2014 |title=Strumaria in cultivation |journal=The Plantsman |series=(New Series) |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=222–225 }}

}}