''Prospero'' 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 ...

bulb 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 duri ...

ous 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 ...

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae (), known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, '' Asparagus officinalis''. This family includes both ...

, subfamily

Scilloideae Scilloideae (named after the genus ''Scilla'', "squill") is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family ''Asparagaceae''. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus ''Hyacinth (plant), Hyacinthus ...

(also treated as the family Hyacinthaceae).Stevens, P.F. (2001 onwards),
Asparagales: Scilloideae
, ''Angiosperm Phylogeny Website'', retrieved 2014-02-25 It is distributed in Europe, around the Mediterranean, and through the Middle East to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Description

Species of ''Prospero'' grow from

s, the leaves and flowers appearing in the autumn and dying down in spring. The leaves are relatively narrow. Each bulb produces one to four flowering stems ( scapes) bearing dense

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 pink to violet flowers. The long

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s are not joined together. The

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s have filaments coloured like the tepals and short purple anthers. The dark brown seeds are more-or-less oblong.

Systematics

The genus ''Prospero'' was included in a posthumously published work including names and descriptions by Richard Salisbury in 1866. However, some species then placed in the genus, such as ''P. hyacinthoideum'' and ''P. lingulatum'', are currently placed in other genera.

Franz Speta Franz Speta (22 December 1941 – 5 December 2015) was an Austrian botanist. He specialized in bulbous plants, especially the Hyacinthaceae. Career Speta worked as an apprentice for a clerk. He then studied at the University of Vienna in the De ...

and co-workers from the 1970s onwards split up the broadly defined genus ''

Scilla ''Scilla'' () is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine ...

'', placing many species into separate genera. The modern understanding of ''Prospero'' dates from 1982, with Speta's re-assignment of ''Scilla autumnalis'' (among other species) to ''Prospero''. The genus is placed in the tribe Hyacintheae (or the subfamily Hyacinthoideae by those who use the family Hyacinthaceae).

Species

, the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) was an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected p ...

recognized the following

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

: #''

Prospero autumnale ''Prospero autumnale'', the autumn squill, an autumnal flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, is found in the Mediterranean region from Portugal and Morocco east to Turkey and the Caucasus, plus Great Britain. Despite ...

'' (L.) Speta #''

Prospero battagliae ''Prospero battagliae'' is an flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae endemic to Crete, Greece. This autumn-flowering plant produces nodding pale violet blooms on slender stems after its grass-like leaves emerge. Firs ...

'' Speta #'' Prospero corsicum'' (Boullu) J.-M.Tison #'' Prospero depressum'' Speta #'' Prospero elisae'' Speta #''

Prospero fallax Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''. Character Twelve years before the play begins, Prospero is usurped from his position as the rightful Duke of Milan by his brother Antonio, w ...

'' (Steinh.) Speta #''

Prospero hanburyi Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''. Character Twelve years before the play begins, Prospero is usurped from his position as the rightful Duke of Milan by his brother Antonio, w ...

'' (Baker) Speta #''

Prospero hierae ''Prospero hierae'' is an autumnal flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae endemic to Marettimo, Italy. It is a diploid species in the ''Prospero autumnale'' cryptic species complex In biology, a species complex is a ...

'' C.Brullo, Brullo, Giusso, Pavone & Salmeri #''

Prospero hierapytnense ''Prospero hierapytnense'' is an flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae that is endemic to Crete, Greece. This autumn-flowering plant produces nodding rosy-pink blooms on slender stems that emerge after its grass-lik ...

'' Speta #''

Prospero idaeum ''Prospero idaeum'' is an autumnal flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae endemic to Crete, Greece. It is a diploid species in the ''Prospero autumnale'' cryptic species complex. This plant produces star-shaped pale p ...

'' Speta #''

Prospero minimum ''Prospero minimum'' is an autumnal flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae that is endemic to Crete, Greece. It is a diploid species in the ''Prospero autumnale'' cryptic species complex. This tiny autumn-flowering p ...

'' Speta #''

Prospero obtusifolium ''Prospero obtusifolium'' is an autumnal flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae Scilloideae (named after the genus ''Scilla'', "squill") is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family ''Asparagaceae''. Scilloideae ...

'' (Poir.) Speta #''

Prospero paratethycum ''Prospero paratethycum'' is an autumnal flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae native to the Pannonian Basin. It is a diploid species in the ''Prospero autumnale'' cryptic species complex In biology, a species comp ...

'' Speta #''

Prospero rhadamanthi ''Prospero rhadamanthi'' is a species of flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae endemic to Crete, Greece. It is a diploid species in the ''Prospero autumnale'' cryptic species complex. This delicate autumn-flowering p ...

'' Speta #''

Prospero talosii ''Prospero talosii'' is an autumnal flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae endemic to the small Dia Island near Crete, Greece. The species is polyploid, and has the largest chromosome number in the genus. Fewer than 50 ...

'' (Tzanoud. & Kypr.) Speta

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14756106 Asparagaceae genera Scilloideae