Gethyllidinae is a small

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The first use of this word dates back to the late 19th century. An example of ...

within the

amaryllis family The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus ''Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryllis fam ...

. It is within tribe

Haemantheae Haemantheae are a tribe of subfamily Amaryllidoideae (family Amaryllidaceae). They are herbaceous monocot perennial flowering plants with a predominantly African distribution. Three subtribes are proposed and six genera including the type genus, ...

, and therefore within the African

clades In biology, a clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach to taxonomy ...

Amaryllidoideae Amaryllidoideae (Amaryllidaceae ''s.s.'', amaryllids) is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the Family (biology), family Amaryllidaceae, Order (biology), order Asparagales. The most recent Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, APG classification, A ...

. It contains two

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

, '' Gethyllis'' and ''

Apodolirion ''Apodolirion'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae). It consists of 6 species native to Southern Africa. Description Vegetative characteristics ''Apodolirion ...

'', both are

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 ...

to southern Africa.

Description

''Gethyllis'' and ''Apodolirion'' are two unifloral genera with fused

spathe 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 look ...

bracts that retain the

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

inside the

bulbs In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs during ...

until the

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

matures. In both the scape remains inside the bulbs. The fruit is large, fleshy, and aromatic with many

seeds In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...

, and distinct from the rest of Haemantheae which have

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

fruits with only a few seeds. These seeds are also small and hard, while the rest of Haemantheae have seeds that are larger, fleshy and water rich. The genera are also distinguished from each other by their

stigmata Stigmata (, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion Five Holy Wounds, wounds of Jesus in Christian ...

. In ''Gethyllis'' this is capitate, while in ''Apodolirion'' it is

trifid Trifid is Latin for "split into three parts" or "threefold" and may refer to: * ''Trifid'' (journal), a Czech-language periodical *Trifid Nebula in the constellation Sagittarius * Trifid cipher, a fractionated cipher Distinguish from *Triffid, a ...

. Also, ''Apodolirion'' has six stamina while ''Gethyllis'' has many more, with some species having 18 or more.

Taxonomy

For the early taxonomic history of these two genera, see Meerow and Clayton (2004). ''Gethyllis'' was one of the two Hamantheae genera to be described (Linnaeus 1753), and in 1829 Dumortier placed it in a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

higher

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Gethyllideae, and hence is given as the

authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...

, a practice followed by

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

described ''Apodolirion'' in 1878, noting the close resemblance to Gethyllis. Pax (1888) then placed both genera in his subtribe Zephyranthinae, as one of six genera, a practice followed by Hutchinson (1926), though at tribal rank. Traub recognised the distinct features of these two genera, for which he created the tribe Gethylleae in his 1963 monograph on the

Amaryllidaceae The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus '' Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryl ...

, based on the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

''Gethyllis''. He (amongst others) even expressed the idea that they might be a single genus. On the other hand, Dahlgren (1985) submerged them once again in Haemantheae. Subsequently, the Müller-Doblies' restored Gethyllidinae as a tribe. Later

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

research has shown that these two genera, while forming a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

subclade, is situated as one of three subtribes of Haemantheae, since forming a separate tribe renders Haemantheae

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

. Although the two genera are resolved in this process as distinct

sister groups In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

, the possibility that they may eventually be considered a single genus remains.

Phylogeny

The Gethyllidinae are placed within the Haemantheae as follows:

Genera

* ''

'' (~6 species) * '' Gethyllis'' (~35 species)

Distribution and habitat

''Gethyllis'' is found in winter rainfall regions of southern Africa, while ''Apodolirion'' is found in the summer rainfall zone.

References

Bibliography

* Volume 2:

Dicotyledon The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, ...

ae 1934. * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q23015953 Amaryllidoideae Flora of Southern Africa Plant subtribes