- Geosiris
Taxobox
name = "Geosiris"
regnum =Plant ae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis =Liliopsida
ordo =Asparagales
familia =Iridaceae
genus = "Geosiris"
species = "G. aphylla"
binomial = "Geosiris aphylla"
binomial_authority = Baillon, 1890"Geosiris aphylla", sometimes called the "earth-iris", is an unusual species in the iris family
Iridaceae . Native toMadagascar and other islands in theIndian Ocean , it is a smallmyco-heterotroph lackingchlorophyll . It is the sole member of the genus.Its
rhizome s are slender and scaly, and stems are simple or branched. The leaves are alternate, but having no use, are reduced and scale-like. The flowers are light purple.In
1939 ,F. P. Jonker assigned "Geosiris" to its own family Geosiridaceae inOrchidales , and this was adopted in theCronquist system , with a note that the family was closely related toIridaceae orBurmanniaceae . TheAngiosperm Phylogeny Group has since subsumed the family into Iridaceae.References
*
F. P. Jonker , "Les Géosiridacées, une nouvelle famille de Madagascar" "Recueil Trav. Bot. Néerl." 36:473-179
*Arthur Cronquist , "An Integrated Systems of Classification of Flowering Plants" (Columbia University Press, 1981) p.1236External links
* [http://ridgwaydb.mobot.org/mobot/madagascar/image.asp?relation=C33 Missouri Botanical Garden photo of "Geosiris" flowers]
* [http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Madagasc/irid.html A different picture]
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