Nerine masoniorum is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae,[3] native to the eastern Cape Province of South Africa.[2] It is a bulbous perennial belonging to the group of nerines that have narrow evergreen foliage.[4] The thread-like leaves reach a length of 25 cm or more. The flowering stem is 15–25 cm tall, with up to 11 flowers arranged in an umbel. Each flower has six narrow pink tepals with wavy edges.[5] It flowers in late summer in cultivation, the first of the nerines to do so.[6] It has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[7]

Nerine masoniorum
In cultivation in Japan
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae
Genus: Nerine
Species:
N. masoniorum
Binomial name
Nerine masoniorum

The species was named by Louisa Bolus in 1930.[2] The specific epithet masoniorum honours Marianne Harriet Mason and her brother Edward Mason, who collected in southern and tropical Africa.[8] (The spelling masonorum is also found.[6])

Nerine masoniorum is regarded as "critically endangered" by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. It is known from only two locations, one of which was reported in 2007 to have been lost to development.[1]

Inflorescence of cultivated plant

References

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  1. ^ a b Snijman, D.A.; Dold, A.P.; Raimondo, D. & Victor, J.E. (2007), "Nerine masoniorum L.Bolus.", National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2013.1, South African National Biodiversity Institute, retrieved 2013-10-19
  2. ^ a b c "Nerine masoniorum", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2014-08-31
  3. ^ Chase, M.W.; Reveal, J.L. & Fay, M.F. (2009), "A subfamilial classification for the expanded asparagalean families Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161 (2): 132–6, doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00999.x
  4. ^ Zonneveld, B.J.M. & Duncan., G.D. (2006), "Genome size for the species of Nerine Herb. (Amaryllidaceae) and its evident correlation with growth cycle, leaf width and other morphological characters.", Plant Systematics and Evolution, 257 (4): 251–260, doi:10.1007/s00606-005-0381-x, S2CID 31666264
  5. ^ Nerine masonorum, retrieved 2013-10-15, and Nerine, retrieved 2013-10-15, in Plant Encyclopedia, Alpine Garden Society
  6. ^ a b "Nerine masonorum", Jardin! L'Encyclopédie (in French), retrieved 2013-10-16
  7. ^ "Nerine masoniorum". www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Mason, Marianne Harriet (1845-1932)", JSTOR | Global Plants, retrieved 2013-10-17