Witsenia

Witsenia
Witsenia maura
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Nivenioideae
Genus: Witsenia
Thunb.
Type species
Witsenia marua
(L.) Thunb.
Synonyms[1]

Antholyza maura L.

Witsenia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1782. There is only one known species, Witsenia marua, endemic to Cape Province in western South Africa.[1][2]

The genus name is a tribute to the botany patron Nicolaas Witsen. It is impossible that Witsen helped finance Carl Peter Thunberg's explorations in South Africa and Japan.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14.: i-vi, 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  3. Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 110–112. ISBN 0-88192-897-6.
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