Cypella

Cypella
Cypella
Cypella coelestis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Iridoideae
Tribe: Tigridieae
Genus: Cypella
Herb.,

Bot. Mag. 53: t. 2637 (1826).
Type species
Cypella herbertii
(Lindley) Herbert
Species

See text.

Cypella is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the Iris family (Iridaceae). It comprises about 22 species distributed in South America, from Peru and Brazil to Northern Argentina. The genus name is likely derived from the Greek word kyphella, meaning "hollow of the ear", and alludes to the shape of the inner tepals.[1]

Contents

Description

Members of Cypella bear basal leaves which arise from small corms, and slender flowering stems are usually branched into several flower clusters with tightly rolled bracts. The colourful delicate blooms each have 3 long tepals like a 3-pointed star, and 3 smaller ones. They bloom in yellows, oranges and blues usually with darker brown or purplish markings.

List of species

Based on DNA and morphological features, the Southamerican genera Kelissa and Onira are now included in Cypella.[2]

  • Cypella aquatilis Ravenna, Nordic J. Bot. 1: 489 (1981). S. Brazil.
  • Cypella armosa Ravenna, Wrightia 7: 20 (1981).

Paraguay to NE. Argentina.

  • Cypella catharinensis Ravenna, Onira 10: 39 (2005). Brazil (Santa Catarina).
  • Cypella craterantha Ravenna, Revista Inst. Munic. Bot. 2: 52 (1964). Peru (Cajamarca).
  • Cypella crenata (Vell.) Ravenna, Bol. Soc. Argent. Bot. 10: 312 (1965). Brazil (SE. Minas Gerais to São Paulo).
  • Cypella curuzupensis Ravenna, Wrightia 7: 19 (1981). Paraguay.
  • Cypella discolor Ravenna, Wrightia 7: 16 (1981). S. Brazil.
  • Cypella elegans Speg., Physis (Buenos Aires) 2: 43 (1917). Argentina (Jujuy).
  • Cypella exilis Ravenna, Nordic J. Bot. 1: 492 (1981). E. & S. Brazil to NE. Argentina.
  • Cypella fucata Ravenna, Wrightia 7: 18 (1981). S. Brazil to NE. Uruguay.
  • Cypella geniculata (Klatt) Ravenna, Revista Inst. Munic. Bot. 2: 53 (1964). Brazil.
  • Cypella gigantea Klatt, Abh. Naturf. Ges. Halle 15: 364 (1882). Brazil (Minas Gerais).
  • Cypella hauthalii (Kuntze) R.C.Foster, Contr. Gray Herb. 171: 23 (1950). SE. Paraguay to Argentina (Corrientes, Misiones).
    • Cypella hauthalii subsp. hauthalii. SE. Paraguay to Argentina (NW. Corrientes, Misiones).
    • Cypella hauthalii subsp. opalina Ravenna, Wrightia 7: 21 (1981). Argentina (Corrientes).
  • Cypella herbertii (Lindl.) Herb., Bot. Mag. 53: t. 2637 (1826). S. Brazil to NE. Argentina.
    • Cypella herbertii subsp. brevicristata Ravenna, Bol. Soc. Argent. Bot. 10: 312 (1965). Uruguay.
    • Cypella herbertii subsp. herbertii. S. Brazil to NE. Argentina.
    • Cypella herbertii subsp. reflexa Ravenna, Wrightia 7: 22 (1981). Argentina (Entre Ríos).
    • Cypella herbertii subsp. wolffhuegelii (Hauman) Ravenna, Bol. Soc. Argent. Bot. 10: 312 (1965). Argentina (Buenos Aires).
  • Cypella laeta Ravenna, Wrightia 7: 13 (1981). NE. Argentina.
  • Cypella lapidosa Ravenna, Wrightia 7: 21 (1981). Argentina (Corrientes).
  • Cypella laxa Ravenna, Wrightia 7: 15 (1981). S. Brazil.
  • Cypella mandonii Rusby, Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 6: 125 (1896). Bolivia.
  • Cypella oreophila Speg., Physis (Buenos Aires) 2: 44 (1917). NW. Argentina.
  • Cypella osteniana Beauverd, Bull. Soc. Bot. Genève 14: 165 (1922 publ. 1923). Uruguay.
  • Cypella pabstiana Ravenna, Wrightia 7: 18 (1981). Brazil (Paraná).
  • Cypella pusilla (Link & Otto) Benth. & Hook.f. ex B.D.Jacks., Index Kew. 1: 689 (1893). S. Brazil.

Economic importance

Some species of Cypella are used as ornamental plants. They are half hardy and may survive the outdoors in cool areas if planted near a sunny wall. They will need well drained soil with full sun. They can be propagated by seeds in the spring.

References

  1. ^ Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 238–39. ISBN 0-88192-897-6. 
  2. ^ Goldblatt, P. & John Manning. 2008. The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Timber Press, 290 pp. ISBN 9780881928976

Bibliography

  • Flora Brasiliensis *Brazilian species of Cypella
  • Dimitri, M. 1987. Enciclopedia Argentina de Agricultura y Jardinería. Tomo I. Descripción de plantas cultivadas. Editorial ACME S.A.C.I., Buenos AIres.
  • Roitman, G & Castillo,A. Novedades en el género Cypella. Bol. Soc. Argent. de Botánica 38: 337-339 (2003).

External links


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