Description:

• Perennial herbs, small to medium-sized; with single to multiple globose or irregularly shaped, hypocotyledonary tuber, sometimes with a proliferation of rhizomes or stolons; internally white, yellow, pink or purplish red, with one or more apical or lateral to basal growing points, each protected by a neck of sheathing fibrous remains of leaf bases
• Leaves 1-several, basally concentrated, synanthous or hysteranthous, erect or prostrate, glabrous or pubescent, with a distinct petiole-like base; lamina linear to lanceolate, ovate or orbicular, with complex appendages or enations sometimes produced from upper surface; also some scale-like, reduced basal leaves
• Peduncle erect, straight or sometimes flexuose, unbranched, terete, naked
• Inflorescence a simple raceme, few-many-flowered, cylindrical to corymbose, dense or lax, upper flowers sometimes sterile or aborted
• Bracts minute, solitary, basal, subtending a single flower
• Pedicels short or long, articulated at apex
• Flowers bisexual, regular, small, diurnal; triangular in outline, rotate, campanulate or recurved, 6-14 mm in diameter
• Tepals 3 + 3, free, dimorphic with outer spreading and inner erect, or all equal to subequal, connate at base only, uninerved, persistent, white, pink, yellow or green
• Stamens 3 + 3, hypogynous, adnate to base of tepals; filaments filiform to broadly lanceolate; anthers peltate, dorsifixed, versatile, subglobose to oval, introrse
• Ovary superior, sessile, 3-locular, each with 2-6 axile ovules; style 1, terete; stigma apical, small
• Fruit a loculicidal, turbinate to ovoid capsule, emarginate, dehiscent, 3-valved, valves persistent
• Seeds 6-12, oval to comma-shaped; testa fawn, densely covered with unicellular white hairs up to 8 mm long, turning brown with age
• x = 7 (10, 12)

Nomenclature:

• Eriospermaceae
  • Endlicher: 156 (1836) as Eriospermeae
  • Endlicher: 90 (1841)
  • Dahlgren et al.: 168 (1985)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Genus 1, species 102, Africa south of the Sahara
• Southern Africa: Genus 1, species ± 100 species, concentrated mostly in Western Cape

References:

• DAHLGREN, R.M.T., CLIFFORD, H.T. & YEO, P.F. 1985. The families of the monocotyledons. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
• ENDLICHER, S.L. 1836. Eriospermeae. Genera plantarum secundum ordines naturales disposita. Beck, Vienna
• ENDLICHER, S.L. 1841. Enchiridion Botanicum. W. Engelmann, Leipzig

Resources:

• Eriospermaceae genus: Eriospermum