''Tecophilaea'' 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 ...

corm Corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen, underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ''c ...

ous plants in the family

Tecophilaeaceae Tecophilaeaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. It consists of nine genera with a total of 27 species. The family has only recently been recognized by taxonomists. The APG IV system of 2016 (u ...

. There are two known species, both native to southern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
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Description

Vegetative characteristics

''Tecophilaea'' are perennial, cormous''Tecophilaea cyanocrocus'' “Violacea.” (n.d.). Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved February 12, 2025, from https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/94374/tecophilaea-cyanocrocus-violacea/details herbs''Tecophilaea''. (n.d.). Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved February 12, 2025, from https://eol.org/pages/100586

Generative characteristics

The trilocular capsule fruit bears many seeds.

Taxonomy

It was validly published by

Luigi Aloysius Colla Luigi Aloysius Colla (30 April 1766 – 23 December 1848) was an Italian botanist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was a member of the Provisional Government of Savoy from December 12, 1798, to April 2, 1799, taking his turn as chai ...

in 1836Colla, Luigi. (1833). Herbarium Pedemontanum; juxta methodum naturalem dispositum, additis nonnullis stirpibus exoticis ad universos ejusdem methodi ordines exhibendos (Vol. 5, p. 447). Ex Typis Regis. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31362114 based on previous work by

Carlo Luigi Giuseppe Bertero Luigi Carlo Giuseppe Bertero (b. Santa Vittoria d'Alba, October 14, 1789 d. April 1831, – South Pacific Ocean) was an Italian physicist, physician, naturalist, botanist, bryologist and pteridologist. He explored the West Indies between 1816 and ...

. The type species is ''Tecophilaea violiflora'' . It is the type genus of its family Tecophilaeaceae Missouri Botanical Garden. (n.d.-y). Tecophilaeaceae Leyb. Tropicos. Retrieved February 12, 2025, from https://www.tropicos.org/name/50304862

Etymology

The genus ''Tecophilaea'' was named after the botanical artist Tecophila Billotti, the daughter of the Italian botanist

, who published the genus.Dale W. McNeal 2012, Tecophilaeaceae, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=93794, accessed on February 12, 2025.

Species

Conservation

''Tecophilaea cyanocrocus'' was believed to be extinct in the wild, but was rediscovered in 2001.Eyzaguirre, M. T., & García de la Huerta, R. (2002)
''Tecophilaea cyanocrocus'' leyb.(tecophilaeceae) redescubierta en su hábitat natural.
Gayana. Botánica, 59(2), 73-77.Holmes, B. (n.d.). ''Tecophilaea cyanocrocus'' Leyb. (1862:370) Chilean blue crocus. The Recently Extinct Plants and Animals Database. Retrieved February 12, 2025, from https://recentlyextinctspecies.com/asparagales-aloes-asparagus-garlic-irises-onions-etc/tecophilaea-cyanocrocus

Distribution

It is endemic to Peru and Chile.

References

Asparagales genera Flora of Southern America Tecophilaeaceae Flora of Peru Flora of Chile {{asparagales-stub