''Francoa'' 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 Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Francoaceae The Francoaceae are a small family of flowering plants in the order Geraniales, including the genera '' Francoa'', commonly known as bridal wreaths. The Francoaceae are recognized as a family under various classification schemes. Under the 2009 A ...

, which consists of

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 ...

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 ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Plants may grow up to one metre high and produce basal clumps of round, deeply lobed, dark green, fuzzy leaves with winged leafstalks. Compact

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s of small, cup-shaped flowers, which are pink with red markings, appear in summer and early fall.

Plants of the world online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

recognise this genus as monotypic, with '' Francoa appendiculata'' as the only species. The Catalogue of the vascular plants of Chile recognise the varieties ''Francoa appendiculata Cav. var. appendiculata, Francoa appendiculata Cav. var. ramosa (D. Don) Rolfe'' and ''Francoa appendiculata Cav. var. sonchifolia (Cav.) Rolfe.''

Species

* '' Francoa alba'' * '' Francoa appendiculata'' * '' Francoa glabrata'' * '' Francoa lyrata'' * '' Francoa ramosa'' * '' Francoa rupestris'' * ''

Francoa sonchifolia ''Francoa sonchifolia'', the wedding flower or bridalwreath (bridal wreath), is a plant species in the family Francoaceae, that is endemic to Chile. An evergreen perennial with wavy edged basal leaves ( sinuate), it produces erect unbranched race ...

'' (Bridal wreath)

References

Endemic flora of Chile Geraniales genera Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles {{Geraniales-stub