Herbertia is a small genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the family Iridaceae.[2]

Herbertia
Herbertia lahue
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Iridoideae
Tribe: Tigridieae
Genus: Herbertia
Sweet
Type species
Herbertia pulchella
Sweet
Synonyms[1]
  • Sympa Ravenna
  • Trifurcia Herb.

Description

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Prairie nymph -- Herbertia lahue

Herbaceous and perennial plants, from tunicate, ovoid bulbs with brown, dry, brittle and papery tunics. The stems are simple or branched. The leaves are few, with the basal ones larger than the others; the blade is pleated, linear-lanceolate.

Taxonomy

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Herbertia consists of 8 accepted species. One of them is native to southeastern + south-central United States, while the others are distributed in South America.[1] The genus is closely related to Alophia, Cypella, and Tigridia.

The name of the genus is dedicated to William Herbert (1778–1847), a prominent British botanist and specialist in bulbous plants.[3]

Species[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ Goldblatt, P. (1978). Herbertia reinstated as a valid generic name. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 64: 378-379.
  3. ^ Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 243–46. ISBN 978-0-88192-897-6.
  4. ^ Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map
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