Leaves
oblong to lanceolate, usually with long sheaths
Flowers
bisexual, rarely unisexual, borne separately from leaves, sometimes precocious, solitary or in spikes or heads, usually large, pedicelled or subsessile; bracts lanceolate to oblong; bracteoles absent
Calyx
tube split down one side, membranous
Corolla
lobes lanceolate to linear; labellum 2-lobed
Stamen
: filament broad, flat, short; anther linear, connective produced above into a toothed petaloid appendage; lateral staminodes conspicuous, usually longer than corolla lobes, free or united to lip
Ovary
3-locular, with many ovules per locule; style filiform; stigma funnel-shaped; epigynous glands erect, short, stub-like
Fruit
capsular
Seeds
arillate
x = 11 (aneuploids, polyploidy)
Nomenclature:
Siphonochilus
J.M.Wood & Franks
Wood & Franks: t. 560 (1911a)
Wood & Franks: 274 (1911b)
Smith: 35 (1998)
Kaempferia
L.
Linnaeus: 2 (1753)
Wright: 313 (1913) in part
Distribution & Notes:
Global
: Species ± 20, Africa
Southern Africa
: Species 2:
Siphonochilus kirkii
(Hook.f.) Baker in Caprivi, Namibia, and
S. aethiopicus
(Schweinf.) B.L.Burtt in Northern Province, Mpumalanga, Swaziland, KwaZulu-Natal to Eastern Cape (largely extinct and possibly introduced in latter three areas fide Williams et al.: 28 (1996))
References:
LINNAEUS, C. 1753.
Species plantarum
. Laurentius Salvius, Stockholm
WILLIAMS, R., CROUCH, N. & PETTIT, G. 1996. Geophytes of KwaZulu-Natal. 2. Underworld plants with a special appeal.
Indigenous Bulb Growers Association of South Africa Bulletin
44
WOOD, J.M. & FRANKS, M. 1911a.
Siphonochilus
. In J. Medley Wood,
Natal Plants
6, 3. Natal Government & Durban Botanic Society, Durban
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