Babiana

Babiana stricta

The Babiana are a genus of flowering plants in the family of Iris Family ( Iridaceae ). The genus consists of about 80 species. The occasionally cultivated as ornamentals Babiana varieties are descended from generally of the type Babiana stricta.

Dissemination

All Babiana species are native to South Africa, from southern Namibia to the Eastern Cape and southern Zimbabwe; there are elements of Flore capensis. Most species grow in the southwestern and western parts of the Western Cape ( about 49 species) and in Namaqualand ( about 30 species ).

Description

Babiana species grow as perennial herbaceous plants. These geophytes form spherical nodules with fibrous sheaths ( " Tunic ") as outlasting. Few of the Babiana species reach heights of growth of more than 30 cm, remember in appearance to very small gladiolus. Almost all species possess only in winter leaves. The parallel venation leaves are simple. The leaves are usually hairy.

The flowering time is usually at the end of winter or spring. Are formed eared inflorescences. The bracts are green to brown dry. The hermaphroditic, flowers are three-fold radial symmetry to zygomorph. The six bracts are almost identical to multiform significantly different and short to long grown Roehrig. The colors of the bracts range from white to yellow and pink to purple and blue. It's just a circle with three fertile stamens present. The pollen is monosulcat. Three carpels are fused into an ovary. The tripartite stylus is shorter or longer than the corolla tube.

Pollination is mostly by insects from four orders: Hymenoptera (mainly Apidae ), Diptera (mainly Nemestrinidae ), Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae ) and Lepidoptera (mainly Noctuidae ). Few species are pollinated by birds.

The capsule fruits contain some blackish to dark brown, spherical seeds.

Use

The tubers of Babiana species are edible. They were formerly eaten by the South Indian population and also baboons eat the tubers, after which the generic name Babiana points. They taste sweet spicy.

Particular varieties of Babiana stricta are used as ornamental plants.

System

The genus was Babiana by John Bellenden Ker Gawler - published ( in Bot Mag 16, 576 ) in 1802. It belongs to the tribe Croceae in the subfamily Crocoideae within the family of Iris Family ( Iridaceae ).

Synonyms for Babiana Ker - Gawl. are: Anaclanthe N.E.Br. and Antholyza L..

The only native to Socotra kind that was formerly to the genus Babiana, Babiana socotrana Hook. f → Cyanixia socotrana ( Hook. f ) Goldblatt & JCManning now forms a separate genus Cyanixia that belongs to the tribe Watsonieae Klatt. The pollen is trisulcat.

The genus contains about 80 species Babiana:

• Babiana ambigua ( Rom. & Schult. ) G.J.Lewis
• Babiana angustifolia Sweet
• Babiana attenuata G.J.Lewis
• Babiana auriculata G.J.Lewis
• Babiana bainesii Baker
• Babiana blanda ( L.Bolus ) G.J.Lewis
• Babiana brachystachys ( Baker) G.J.Lewis
• Babiana cedarbergensis G.J.Lewis
• Babiana crispa G.J.Lewis
• Babiana cuneata J.C.Manning & Goldblatt
• Babiana curviscapa G.J.Lewis
• Babiana disticha Ker Gawl.
• Babiana dregei Baker
• Babiana ecklonii Klatt
• Babiana fimbriata ( Klatt ) Baker
• Babiana flabellifolia Harv. ex Klatt
• Babiana foliosa G.J.Lewis
• Babiana fourcadei G.J.Lewis
• Babiana fragrans ( Jacq. ) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
• Babiana framesii L.Bolus
• Babiana geniculata G.J.Lewis
• Babiana hiemalis L.Bolus
• Babiana hirsuta ( Lam.) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
• Babiana horizontalis G.J.Lewis
• Babiana hypogaea Burch.
• Babiana klaverensis G.J.Lewis
• Babiana lata GJLewis is a hybrid: B. blanda × B. villosula
• Babiana leipoldtii G.J.Lewis
• Babiana lewisiana B.Nord.
• Babiana lineolata Klatt
• Babiana lobata G.J.Lewis
• Babiana longicollis Dinter
• Babiana longiflora Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
• Babiana minuta G.J.Lewis
• Babiana montana G.J.Lewis
• Babiana mucronata ( Jacq. ) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana namaquensis Baker
• Babiana nana ( Andrews ) Spreng.
• Babiana obliqua E.Phillips
• Babiana odorata L.Bolus
• Babiana pater soniae L.Bolus
• Babiana patula N.E.Br.
• Babiana pauciflora G.J.Lewis
• Babiana pilosa G.J.Lewis
• Babiana planifolia ( GJLewis ) Goldblatt & JCManning
• Babiana praemorsa Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
• Babiana pubescens ( Lam.) G.J.Lewis
• Babiana purpurea ( Jacq. ) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana pygmaea ( Burm.f. ) N.E.Br.
• Babiana regia ( G.J.Lewis ) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
• Babiana ringens (L.) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana rubrocyanea ( Jacq. ) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana salteri G.J. Lewis
• Babiana sambucina ( Jacq. ) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana scabrifolia Brehmer ex Klatt
• Babiana scariosa G.J. Lewis
• Babiana secunda ( Thunb. ) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana sinuata G.J. Lewis
• Babiana spathacea ( L. f ) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana spiralis Baker
• Babiana stenomera Schltr.
• Babiana striata ( Jacq. ) G.J. Lewis
• Babiana stricta ( Aiton ) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana symmetrantha Goldblatt & J. C. Manning
• Babiana torta G.J. Lewis
• Babiana tritonioides G.J. Lewis
• Babiana tubaeformis Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
• Babiana tubiflora ( L. f ) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana tubulosa ( Burm. f ) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana unguiculata G.J. Lewis
• Babiana vanzyliae L. Bolus
• Babiana villosa ( Aiton ) Ker Gawl.
• Babiana villosula ( J.F.Gmel. ) Ker Gawl. ex Steud.
• Babiana virescens Goldblatt & J. C. Manning
• Babiana virginea Goldblatt

Pictures

Babiana spec.:

Swell

• Peter Goldblatt & John C. Manning: The Iris Family: . Natural History and Classification, Timber Press, Portland, 2008, ISBN 978-0881928976. . Babiana pp. 175 ff
• Peter Goldblatt: A revision of the southern African genus Babiana, Iridaceae: Crocoideae in Strelitzia, 18, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 2007, ISBN 9781919976327.
• Peter Goldblatt & John C. Manning: Floral biology of Babiana ( Iridaceae: Crocoideae ): adaptive floral radiation and pollination, in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Volume 94, Issue 4, 2007, pp. 709-733. Online.
• Peter Goldblatt, John C. Manning & D. Snijman. The color encyclopedia of Cape bulbs, Timber Press, Portland, 2002.
• Peter Goldblatt: Iridaceae in Flora Zambesiaca, Volume 12, 1993 Babiana - Online..