''Pyrolirion'', commonly known as fire lilies or flame lilies, is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

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 ...

, bulb-forming

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

n plants in 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 fami ...

, native to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

.Tropicos, ''Pyrolirion'' Herb.
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Description

''Pyrolirion'' have thin linear leaves that may be pointed at the tips. The flowers, which can vary in coloration, are borne erect on solitary hollow scapes. The perigone is funnel-shaped, with a cylindrical tube that flares out abruptly to star-like radially arranged (actinomorphic)

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s. Small scale-like "paraperigone" may be present at the base. The

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s arise from or below the throat. The

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

has three branches at the tip with spoon-shaped (spatulate) stigmas. The seeds are laterally compressed, colored black with white seams (

raphe Raphe (; from Greek ῥαφή, "seam"Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press.) has several diffe ...

Systematics

The genus ''Pyrolirion'' was first established by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

botanist William Herbert in 1837. The name ''Pyrolirion'' is from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

πῦρ (''pyr'', "fire") and λείριον (''leirion'', "lily"). It is named after the flame-like colors of the flowers of ''

Pyrolirion arvense ''Pyrolirion'', commonly known as fire lilies or flame lilies, is a small genus of herbaceous, bulb-forming South American plants in the Amaryllis family, native to Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. Description ''Pyrolirion'' have thin linear leaves t ...

'' (the golden flame lily). ''Pyrolirion'' is classified under the

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

Eustephieae Eustephieae is a tribe (in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae), where it forms part of the Andean clade, one of two American clades. Taxonomy Phylogeny This tribe was resurrected from the Stenomesseae in 1995 by Meerow. T ...

of the subfamily

Amaryllidoideae Amaryllidoideae (Amaryllidaceae ''s.s.'', amaryllids) is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. The most recent APG classification, APG III, takes a broad view of the Amaryllidaceae, which then ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 ...

. It was previously sometimes considered by some authors as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed betw ...

of ''

Zephyranthes ''Zephyranthes'' is a genus of temperate and tropical plants in the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae, native to the Western Hemisphere and widely cultivated as ornamentals. Following the expansion of the genus in 2019, which now ...

'' (rain lilies), but DNA sequencing has shown that it is a distinct genus more closely related to the

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

Chlidanthus ''Chlidanthus'' is a genus that consists of 10 species of tender bulbs from tropical South America, mostly natives to the Andes. The botanical name comes from the Greek, meaning "delicate flower". The plants have large spherical bulbs with gray-g ...

'', ''

Eustephia ''Eustephia'' is a genus of South American plants in the Amaryllis family. All 6 known species are native to Peru, with the range of one species extending also into Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , fla ...

'', and ''

Hieronymiella ''Hieronymiella'' is a genus of South American plants in the Amaryllis family, known from only Bolivia and Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern ha ...

'' in the tribe Eustephieae than to members of the tribe

Hippeastreae Hippeastreae is a tribe of plants belonging to the subfamily Amaryllidoideae of the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). Species in this tribe are distributed in South America. Flowers are large and showy, zygomorphic, with the stamens in varying ...

. ;Species The species-level classification of ''Pyrolirion'' is unclear and in need of further study. The following are accepted at present (April 2015) # ''

Pyrolirion albicans ''Pyrolirion'', commonly known as fire lilies or flame lilies, is a small genus of herbaceous, bulb-forming South American plants in the Amaryllis family, native to Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. Description ''Pyrolirion'' have thin linear leaves t ...

'' Herb. -

Perú , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy fo ...

(

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated cit ...

) # ''

'' ( F.Dietr.) -

(

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of t ...

) # ''

Pyrolirion boliviense ''Pyrolirion'', commonly known as fire lilies or flame lilies, is a small genus of herbaceous, bulb-forming South American plants in the Amaryllis family, native to Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. Description ''Pyrolirion'' have thin linear leaves t ...

'' (Baker) Sealy -

(

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 6 ...

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bo ...

) # ''

Pyrolirion cutleri ''Pyrolirion'', commonly known as fire lilies or flame lilies, is a small genus of herbaceous, bulb-forming South American plants in the Amaryllidaceae, Amaryllis family, native to Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. Description ''Pyrolirion'' have thin ...

'' (Cárdenas) Ravenna -

(

) # ''

Pyrolirion flavum ''Pyrolirion'', commonly known as fire lilies or flame lilies, is a small genus of herbaceous, bulb-forming South American plants in the Amaryllis family, native to Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. Description ''Pyrolirion'' have thin linear leaves t ...

'' Herb. -

(

) # ''

Pyrolirion huantae ''Pyrolirion'', commonly known as fire lilies or flame lilies, is a small genus of herbaceous, bulb-forming South American plants in the Amaryllis family, native to Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. Description ''Pyrolirion'' have thin linear leaves t ...

'' Ravenna -

# ''

Pyrolirion tarahuasicum ''Pyrolirion'', commonly known as fire lilies or flame lilies, is a small genus of herbaceous, bulb-forming South American plants in the Amaryllis family, native to Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. Description ''Pyrolirion'' have thin linear leaves t ...

'' Ravenna -

# ''

Pyrolirion tubiflorum ''Pyrolirion'', commonly known as fire lilies or flame lilies, is a small genus of herbaceous, bulb-forming South American plants in the Amaryllis family, native to Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. Description ''Pyrolirion'' have thin linear leaves t ...

'' (L'Hér.) M.Roem. -

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5813086 Amaryllidoideae Amaryllidaceae genera Flora of South America