Description :

• Acaulescent herbs with rhizomatous or discoid tubers
• Leaves simple, several per shoot, glabrous, rosulate, deciduous or evergreen; with 2 or 3 subulate cataphylls; petiole long, lacking apical pulvinus, base sometimes mottled or striped with white or purple, sometimes with trichomes; lamina variable, lanceolate, ovate or orbicular, with or without white pellucid spots
• Inflorescence contemporary with leaves; peduncle usually as long as, or longer than leaves
• Spathe cylindrical or funnel-shaped, convolute at base, with or without a purple-coloured blotch at base within, persistent, limb spreading, truncate to acute, white, cream, yellow, pink or red
• Spadix shorter than spathe, sessile or sometimes ± stipitate; basal portion pistillate, apical portion staminate
• Flowers without perianth segments
• Male flowers with stamens free; anthers sessile, oblong, truncate at apex, dehiscing by apical pores; pollen white, emitted in fine long threads
• Female flowers with or without staminodes; ovary 3-locular; ovules 1-8 per locule, with axile or subapical placentation; style short, terete; stigma capitate
• Fruit a berry; few- to many-seeded, green or orange when ripe
• Seeds subglobose or ovoid, mucilaginous, verrucose; with abundant endosperm
• x = 8

Nomenclature:

• Zantedeschia Spreng.
  • Sprengel: 756, 765 (1826)
  • Letty: 8 (1962)
  • Letty: 5 (1973)
  • Singh et al.: 321 (1996)
  • Mayo et al.: 232 (1997) name conserved
• Richardia Kunth
  • Kunth: 433, 437, t. 20 (1818)
  • Brown: 37 (1897)
  • Brown: 167 (1901)
  • Peter: 197 (1930)~(Page number suspect - No access to the publication)
• Pseudohomalomena A.D.Hawkes
  • Hawkes: 147 (1951)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global : Species 8, occurs mainly in southern Africa
• Southern Africa : Widespread but absent in Northern Cape