The World Flora Online

Herbes pérennes, terrestres, caulescentes ou non, glabres ou parfois avec une pilosité limitée (hors Gabon) ; tige souterraine formée d’un corme globuleux à ellipsoïdal, nu ou avec les restes des feuilles basales ou leurs faisceaux vasculaires. Feuilles (sub-)basales, spiralées, parfois caulinaires (hors Gabon), simples, les basales souvent réduites à des cataphylles ; limbe linéaire, ovale ou lancéolé, passant progressivement à une base engainante ou non, ou à pétiole et limbe distincts, marge entière ou parfois ondulée ; nervation parallèle avec une nervure centrale marquée. Inflorescences terminales chez les plantes acaules, latérales/axillaires chez les plantes caulescentes (hors du Gabon), à fleurs solitaires ou en panicules, en racèmes ou en épis ; bractées souvent présentes. Fleurs frappantes, hermaphrodites, actinomorphes ou zygomorphes, 3-mères ; pédicelle souvent muni de bractéoles ; périanthe à 6 tépales de couleur variable, bleue, rose, violette, blanche ou jaunâtre, ± longuement soudés à la base, disposés en 2 cycles, avec de 3 à 7 nervures et parfois (hors du Gabon) une couronne peu marquée présente entre les étamines ; androcée variable, comprenant 6 pièces épitépales, insérées vers la base des tépales, de 6 étamines fertiles ou une combinaison d’étamines et de staminodes (hors du Gabon), comparables ou non, disposées sur 1 ou 2 cycles, anthère 2-loculaire, basifixe, parfois appendiculée, déhiscente apicalement ou longitudinalement ; ovaire supère à infère, ellipsoïdal à ovoïde, souvent 3-lobé, 3-carpellé et 3-loculaire, avec 2 à nombreux ovules, à placentation axile ; 1 style terminal, droit ou courbe, à stigmate papilleux, peu marqué, ponctué ou obscurément trifide. Fruits capsulaires, loculicides, souvent une seule loge fertile, les deux autres avortées. Graines de taille, de forme et de couleur variables, parfois avec une structure ressemblant à un élaïosome (voir note ci-dessous) ; endosperme présent ou non.

Famille comprenant 8 genres et 23 espèces connus de l’Afrique tropicale et australe, ainsi que de Madagascar et dans le Nouveau Monde, du Chili et de la Californie ; une espèce indigène au Gabon.

Seeds numerous, with fleshy endosperm Fruit a loculicidal capsule Herbs with fibrous tunicated corms or thick orbicular flattened tubers Leaves radical or towards the base of the flowering stems, linear to ovate-orbicular and cordate, glabrous Ovary semi-inferior, 3-locular; style subulate or filiform Ovules numerous, axile, 2-seriate in each loculus Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, in simple racemes separately from the tuber or corm, or in panicles; bracts large and membranous to small Perianth-tube short or absent; lobes 6, spreading or reflexed, subequal, imbricate Stamens 6, perfect, or 3 and with 3 staminodes, inserted at the throat of the perianth; anthers 2-locular, the connective often produced at both ends, the base then swollen or spur-like, cells opening by a terminal pore, rarely by a slit Fruit a loculicidal capsule Herbs with fibrous tunicated corms or thick orbicular flattened tubers Leaves radical or towards the base of the flowering stems, linear to ovate-orbicular and cordate, glabrous Ovary semi-inferior, 3-locular; style subulate or filiform Ovules numerous, axile, 2-seriate in each loculus Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, in simple racemes separately from the tuber or corm, or in panicles; bracts large and membranous to small Perianth-tube short or absent; lobes 6, spreading or reflexed, subequal, imbricate Stamens 6, perfect, or 3 and with 3 staminodes, inserted at the throat of the perianth; anthers 2-locular, the connective often produced at both ends, the base then swollen or spur-like, cells opening by a terminal pore, rarely by a slit

Ovary inferior, semi-superior or superior, 3-locular; placentation axile, ovules 2-many per carpel Style erect, filiform, straight or curved; stigma small, capitate or minutely 3-fid Capsule 3-lobed, loculicidal; seeds small numerous smooth or warty, or few and large and sometimes with a conspicuous chalazosperm Glabrous geophytic herbs, perennating from corms or tubers; corms with or without a fibrous tunic of persistent sheathing leaves or leaf remnants (tunic absent in the Flora Zambesiaca area) Leaves basal or cauline, spirally arranged, sessile or ± petiolate, sheathing or not at the base, entire, linear or lanceolate to ovate; the outer leaves reduced to ± membranous non-photosynthetic sheaths without blades (cataphylls) Caulescent or acaulescent Flowers hypogynous, bisexual, trimerous, actinomorphic, pedicellate Inflorescences terminal in acaulescent plants, or lateral on caulescent plants, scapose or pedunculate; flowers in panicles, racemes or spikes, or flowers solitary, usually bracteate, leaves and scape sometimes arising separately from each other on the corm apex Stamens 6, inserted at the throat of the perianth tube, equal (or in the New World sometimes heteromorphic or some reduced to staminodes); filaments glabrous, short; anthers basifixed, 2-locular, sometimes tailed, connivent at apex or not, dehiscing by an apical pore or clavate slit, or splitting longitudinally Perianth segments (tepals) 6, fused into a short tube at the base, or ± free to the base, segments reflexed or not Style erect, filiform, straight or curved; stigma small, capitate or minutely 3-fid Capsule 3-lobed, loculicidal; seeds small numerous smooth or warty, or few and large and sometimes with a conspicuous chalazosperm Glabrous geophytic herbs, perennating from corms or tubers; corms with or without a fibrous tunic of persistent sheathing leaves or leaf remnants (tunic absent in the Flora Zambesiaca area) Leaves basal or cauline, spirally arranged, sessile or ± petiolate, sheathing or not at the base, entire, linear or lanceolate to ovate; the outer leaves reduced to ± membranous non-photosynthetic sheaths without blades (cataphylls) Caulescent or acaulescent Flowers hypogynous, bisexual, trimerous, actinomorphic, pedicellate Inflorescences terminal in acaulescent plants, or lateral on caulescent plants, scapose or pedunculate; flowers in panicles, racemes or spikes, or flowers solitary, usually bracteate, leaves and scape sometimes arising separately from each other on the corm apex Stamens 6, inserted at the throat of the perianth tube, equal (or in the New World sometimes heteromorphic or some reduced to staminodes); filaments glabrous, short; anthers basifixed, 2-locular, sometimes tailed, connivent at apex or not, dehiscing by an apical pore or clavate slit, or splitting longitudinally Perianth segments (tepals) 6, fused into a short tube at the base, or ± free to the base, segments reflexed or not

Flowers pedicellate, hermaphrodite, regular or slightly irregular Perianth-segments 6, free or forming a short tube, entire, spreading or reflexed Stamens 6, inserted on the perianth-segments at the throat of the tube, all perfect or 2 or 3 replaced by linear staminodes; anthers dithecous, sometimes connivent, with the base sometimes produced into a spur or sac; dehiscence by an apical pore, usually slightly introrse Ovary semi-inferior, rarely almost superior, trilocular; ovules 2–? in each cell; placentation axile; style filiform; stigma minutely trifid Capsule trilobed, dehiscence loculicidal; seeds small and numerous, or a few large ones, rarely only one developing, smooth or warted, rarely with spongy cap; endosperm present Bracts sometimes minute or absent Inflorescence racemose, pseudo-racemose or paniculate, or the flowers solitary Leaves petiolate, sessile or amplexicaul, linear to ovate-orbicular, decurrent to cordate Perennial herbs with corms or tubers Perianth-segments 6, free or forming a short tube, entire, spreading or reflexed Stamens 6, inserted on the perianth-segments at the throat of the tube, all perfect or 2 or 3 replaced by linear staminodes; anthers dithecous, sometimes connivent, with the base sometimes produced into a spur or sac; dehiscence by an apical pore, usually slightly introrse Ovary semi-inferior, rarely almost superior, trilocular; ovules 2–? in each cell; placentation axile; style filiform; stigma minutely trifid Capsule trilobed, dehiscence loculicidal; seeds small and numerous, or a few large ones, rarely only one developing, smooth or warted, rarely with spongy cap; endosperm present Bracts sometimes minute or absent Inflorescence racemose, pseudo-racemose or paniculate, or the flowers solitary Leaves petiolate, sessile or amplexicaul, linear to ovate-orbicular, decurrent to cordate Perennial herbs with corms or tubers