''Dierama'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of flowering plants in the family

Iridaceae Iridaceae () is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the Iris (plant), irises. It has a nearly global distribution, with 69 accepted genera with a total of about 2500 species. It includes a number of economically importan ...

. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

.Glen, H
''Dierama reynoldsii''.
South African National Biodiversity Institute. 2005. They are native to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, with most occurring in the southern regions of the continent.''Dierama'' K.Koch.
''Flora Zambesiaca''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The

center of diversity A Vavilov center or center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Nikolai Vavilov. Vavilov posite ...

is the province of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

in eastern South Africa. Dierama dracomontanum1UME

Description

Plants of this genus are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

perennial herbs growing from large

corm Corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen, underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ''c ...

s with fibrous

tunics A tunic is a clothing, garment for the torso, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the ankles. It might have arm-sleeves, either short or full-length. Most forms have no fastenings. The ...

. The lowest two or three leaves are

cataphyll In plant morphology, a cataphyll (sometimes also called a ''cataphyllum'' or cataphyll leafJackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. London, 4th ed 1928) is a reduce ...

s that sheath the lower stem and become dry. The thin, wiry, branching stem may bend and droop when in flower. It is lined with leaves that have linear blades with thick longitudinal veins and often no midrib. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

of several spikes of flowers. The spikes may hang like bells or grow erect. The

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s around the flowers are usually dry, thin, membranous, translucent, and streaked or veined with brown. The bell-shaped flowers of most wild species are pink; red, purple, yellow, and white taxa also exist. There are many

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s in a range of colors, sometimes with spots of yellow or blue. The fruit is a spherical capsule. Dierama pendulum Hairbells Flower 0560

Etymology

The genus name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word ''dierama,'' meaning "funnel," and alludes to the flower shape.

Diversity

There are about 44 species. Species include:Arnold, T. H. and B. C. de Wet, Eds. Plants of Southern Africa: Names & Distribution. In: ''Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa'' No. 62. National Botanical Institute, South Africa. 1993. ''Dierama''.
Red List of South African Plants. South African National Biodiversity Institute. * ''

Dierama adelphicum ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

'' * ''

Dierama ambiguum ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

'' * ''

Dierama argyreum ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

'' * ''

Dierama atrum ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

'' * ''

Dierama cooperi ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

'' * ''

Dierama cupuliflorum ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

''''Dierama cupuliflorum''.
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Kew. *''

Dierama densiflorum ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

''''Dierama densiflorum''.
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Kew. * ''

Dierama dissimile ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

'' * '' Dierama dracomontanum'' * '' Dierama dubium'' * '' Dierama elatum'' * '' Dierama erectum'' * '' Dierama floriferum'' * '' Dierama formosum'' * '' Dierama galpinii'' * '' Dierama gracile'' * '' Dierama grandiflorum'' * ''

Dierama igneum ''Dierama igneum'', the fiery wandflower, is a species of flowering plant in the iris family Iridaceae, native to south east Africa. It is a slow-growing, bulbous perennial plant, perennial growing to tall from clumps of grass-like leaves. Everg ...

'' * '' Dierama insigne'' *'' Dierama inyangense''''Dierama inyangense''.
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Kew. * '' Dierama jucundum'' * '' Dierama latifolium'' *'' Dierama longistylum''''Dierama longistylum''.
''Flora Zambesiaca''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. * '' Dierama luteoalbidum'' * '' Dierama medium'' * '' Dierama mobile'' * ''

Dierama mossii ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

'' * '' Dierama nebrownii'' * ''

Dierama nixonianum ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

'' * '' Dierama pallidum'' * ''

Dierama palustre ''Dierama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. Common names include hairbells, angel's fishing rod, fairybells, and wandflowers in English and ''grasklokkies'' (= grass-bells) in Afrikaans.Glen, H''Dierama reynoldsii''.South ...

'' *'' Dierama parviflorum''''Dierama parviflorum''.
''Flora Zambesiaca''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. * '' Dierama pauciflorum'' * '' Dierama pendulum'' - angel's fishing rods, grassy bells,''Dierama pendulum''.
Missouri Botanical Garden. fairybell, hairbell, wedding bell * '' Dierama pictum'' *'' Dierama plowesii''''Dierama plowesii''.
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Kew. * '' Dierama pulcherrimum'' * '' Dierama pumilum'' * '' Dierama reynoldsii'' * '' Dierama robustum'' * '' Dierama sertum'' * '' Dierama trichorhizum'' * '' Dierama tyrium'' * '' Dierama tysonii''

Uses

Some species of dierama are cultivated as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

s, such as the purple-pink-flowered ''D. pendulum''. The South African

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

''D. erectum'' is grown for the large, pink flowers it bears on tall, erect stems. It is prone to attack by the

bean weevil The bean weevils or seed beetles are a subfamily (Bruchinae) of weevils, which in turn are a subset of beetles. The Bruchinae now placed in the family Chrysomelidae, though they have historically been treated as a separate family. The subfamily ...

'' Urodon lilii''.Koetle, M. J., et al. (2010)
''In vitro'' regeneration in ''Dierama erectum'' Hilliard.
''Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture'' 103(1) 23-31. Certain species have been used in

traditional African medicine Traditional African medicine is a range of traditional medicine disciplines involving indigenous herbalism and African spirituality, typically including diviners, midwives, and herbalists. Practitioners of traditional African medicine claim, ...

and

spiritual practices A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline (often including spiritual exercises) is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual developme ...

. ''D. erectum'' is used as an

enema An enema, also known as a clyster, is the rectal administration of a fluid by injection into the Large intestine, lower bowel via the anus.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word ''enema'' can also refer to the ...

by the

Sotho people The Sotho (), also known as the Basotho (), are a Sotho-Tswana peoples, Sotho-Tswana ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The ancestors of the Sotho peo ...

and as a treatment for stomach problems. The corm of the plant is a fertility charm for bringing a good harvest.

Conservation

Some species, especially the narrow endemics, are decreasing in abundance due to

loss of habitat Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. The South African natives ''D. ambiguum'', ''D. erectum'', and ''D. nixonianum'' are considered

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

References

{{Authority control Iridaceae genera Taxa named by Karl Koch Flora of the Afrotropical realm