''Eleutherine'' 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 ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

and

bulbous plants Bulb or Bulbs may refer to: Common uses * Bulb, a food-storage structure within some plants ** Ornamental bulbous plant, Ornamental bulb, a kind of perennial plant * Light bulb, an electric lamp Maritime * Bulb keel, a type of keel * Bulbous b ...

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 ...

, first described as a genus in 1843. It is native to

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The genus name may be 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 ''eleuthera'', meaning "free". ; Species * ''

Eleutherine angusta ''Eleutherine'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1843. It is native to Latin America and the West Indies. The genus name may be derived from the Greek word ''eleuthera' ...

'' Ravenna - Paraguay, Mato Grosso do Sul * ''

Eleutherine bulbosa ''Eleutherine bulbosa'' is an herbaceous, perennial flowering plant species in the family Iridaceae. Among Spanish-speakers, the plant is known as ''lagrimas de la virgen'' ("tears of the virgin"). Like other '' Eleutherine'' species, ''E. bulbo ...

'' (Mill.) Urb. - West Indies, South America; naturalized in Zaire, Réunion, India, Cambodia, Vietnam * '' Eleutherine citriodora'' (Ravenna) Ravenna - Bolivia, northern Argentina * ''

Eleutherine latifolia ''Eleutherine'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulb, bulbous plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1843. It is native to Latin America and the West Indies. The genus name may be derived from the Greek language, G ...

'' (Standl. & L.O.Williams) Ravenna - Mexico, Central America, Bolivia, northern Argentina

References

* Peter Goldblatt and Neil Snow. 1991
Systematics and Chromosome Cytology of ''Eleutherine'' Herbert (Iridaceae).
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Vol. 78, No. 4 (1991), pp. 942–949. Iridaceae genera Iridaceae Taxa named by William Herbert (botanist) Flora of the Neotropical realm {{Iridaceae-stub