Melasphaerula is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1803. There is only one known species, Melasphaerula graminea, native to Namibia and the Cape Province in South Africa.[1]

Melasphaerula
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Crocoideae
Tribe: Gladioleae
Genus: Melasphaerula
Ker Gawl.
Species:
M. graminea
Binomial name
Melasphaerula graminea
(L.f.) Ker Gawl.
Synonyms[1]
  • Gladiolus gramineus L.f.
  • Diasia graminifolia DC.
  • Diasia iridifolia DC.
  • Melasphaerula intermedia Sweet
  • Melasphaerula parviflora G.Lodd.
  • Melasphaerula iridifolia Sweet
  • Diasia intermedia Heynh.
  • Diasia parviflora (G.Lodd.) Steud.

The genus name is derived from the Greek words melas, meaning "black", and sphaerulos, meaning "small sphere".[2]

Some sources use the name Melasphaerula parviflora for the species, not accepting Melasphaerula graminea.[3][4]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 142–44. ISBN 978-0-88192-897-6.
  3. ^ Innes, C. (1985). The World of Iridaceae: 1-407. Holly Gare International Ltd., Ashington
  4. ^ Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14.: i-vi, 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria