Skip to main content
This genus is accepted, and its native range is Ethiopia to S. Africa, SW. Arabian Peninsula, Madagascar.
Trachyandra arvensis (Schinz.) Oberm.

[FZ]

Asphodelaceae, S. Kativu. Flora Zambesiaca 12:3. 2001

Morphology General Habit
Geophytic herbs (sometimes suffrutescent), solitary or ± tufted, from short vertical rhizomes, acaulescent or sometimes caulescent, glabrous or glandular-pubescent.
Morphology Roots
Roots numerous, fibrous, swollen and tapering or fusiform (sometimes narrowly tuberous).
Morphology Stem
Stem when present ± woody, naked or covered with old leaf bases.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves rosulate, rarely ± distichous, sheathing at the base and often persisting as a sheath of fibres, or cauline and alternate; lamina linear, flat, three-angular in section or ± terete, entire, glabrous hispidulous or glandular-pubescent, outer leaves sometimes reduced to chartaceousoverlapping brown sheaths (squamae).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences with flowers racemosely or paniculately arranged on a peduncle or scape; peduncle terete, naked or rarely with a few sterile bracts in the upper part; pedicels each subtended by a floral bract, not articulated, ascending, patent or ± recurved, sometimes curving through 360°, their direction usually changing with the developmental stage of the flower and fruit.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers erect to pendulous; perianth segments free, spreading or reflexed, usually white, occasionally dull yellowish (rarely pink or mauve), with a single dark central vein, the 3 outer segments slightly narrower than the 3 inner ones, caducous, the perianth base persisting below the ovary to form a small sometimes stipitate rim or cup.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 6, slightly shorter than the perianth segments; filaments attached to the perianth base, scabrid or retrorsely papillate; anthers versatile, introrse.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary sessile, 3-locular, globose with 2–16 ovules biseriate in each locule; style filiform, ultimately exserted, often declinate; stigma minutely penicillate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule loculicidally 3-valved, globose or ± 3-lobed; testa coriaceous, smooth or tuberculate with few to many gland-tipped tubercles.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds angled, brownish or greyish, smooth or verrucose, with or without prominent ridges, with immersed yellow glands (maculate), becoming glutinous when mature.

[FTEA]

Asphodelaceae, Christopher Whitehouse. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2002

Morphology General Habit
Suffrutescent or herbaceous perennials, rhizomatous, sometimes developing an upright stem covered with old leaf-bases; roots fibrous or spindle-shaped, sometimes forming a small tuber
Morphology Leaves
Leaves in a rosette or rarely distichous, or cauline and alternate, terete, triquetrous, canaliculate or flat, with a tubular basal sheath, outer leaves often reduced, membranous and sheathing
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence an axillary raceme or panicle; pedicels not articulated, one in each bract; flowers white or rarely yellow, pink or mauve, with dark keels on the tepals and often 2-spotted at the base
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth
Perianth of 6 free tepals, spreading or reflexed, the 3 outer slightly narrower than the inner
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 6, slightly shorter than the tepals, sometimes declinate; filaments retrorsely scabrid
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary sessile, globose, with 2–16 ovules per locule; style filiform, often declinate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule globose to ellipsoid, sometimes tuberculate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds angled, brown or grey, smooth or verrucose, with scattered glands.

[FSOM]

M. Thulin. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1–4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Distribution
Some 50 species in Africa, the majority in South Africa.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves linear
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a many-flowered raceme or panicle; bracts scarious; pedicels not articulated, often thickened in fruit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Tepal
Tepals subequal, usually white, free or united only at the base, spreading or recurved, 1-nerved, soon falling and leaving a small rim or cup below the ovary
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens usually ± equal, slightly shorter than tepals; filaments scabrid with short retrorse hairs
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule few- to many-seeded
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds angled.

Native to:

Angola, Botswana, Cape Provinces, Caprivi Strip, Ethiopia, Free State, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Somalia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Introduced into:

New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia

Trachyandra Kunth appears in other Kew resources:

First published in Enum. Pl. 4: 573 (1843)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R.H.A. (2011). World checklist of selected plant families published update Facilitated by the Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Literature

Flora Zambesiaca

  • Enum. Pl. 4: 573 (1843), nom. conserv.
  • Obermeyer in Bothalia 7: 711–759 (1962).
  • Sölch et al. in Merxmüller, Prodr. Fl. SW. Afrika, fam. 147: 68 (1970).

Flora of Somalia

  • Flora Somalia, Vol 4, (1995) Author: by M. Thulin [updated by M. Thulin 2008]

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Enum. Pl. 4: 573 (1843)
  • Oberm. in Bothalia 7: 711–759 (1962)

Flora Zambesiaca
Flora Zambesiaca
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Flora of Somalia
Flora of Somalia
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of Tropical East Africa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0