Inflorescence of 1 (or 2) flowers, subtended by 2 opposing, spurred bracts; peduncle erect, simple and filiform
Flower(s) white or rarely pale pink, nodding, tubular; pedicel(s) recurved
Tepals fused, forming a cylindric tube with short, rounded lobes
Stamens 6, in one whorl, arising from apex of perianth tube; filaments very short or absent; anthers with a shortly extended emarginate connective, introrse, opening by longitudinal slits
Fruit an ovoid capsule, membranous; dehiscing loculicidally
Seeds tetrahedral, pointed, black, papillose
x = 10 (1 report)
Nomenclature:
Litanthus Harv.
Harvey: 314 (1844)
Baker: 444 (1897)
Jessop: 307 (1977)
Bruyns & Vosa: 295 (1987)
Hilliard: 30 (1990)
Distribution & Notes:
Southern Africa: Species 1: Litanthus pusillus Harv., widespread: Botswana, North-West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Swaziland, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Western and Eastern Cape
Occurs most frequently massed in rock crevices, often on the top of boulders, in soil or moss cushions
Additional Notes:
. This minute plant with its dainty leaves and peduncle has not often been recorded
References:
BAKER, J.G. 1897. Liliaceae. Flora capensis 6,2
BRUYNS, P.V. & VOSA, C.G. 1987. Taxonomic and cytological notes on Bowiea Hook.f. and allied genera (Liliaceae). Caryologia 40
HARVEY, W.H. 1844. The London Journal of Botany 3
HILLIARD, O.M. 1990. Flowers of the Natal Drakensberg. University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg
JESSOP, J.P. 1977. Studies in the bulbous Liliaceae in South Africa. The taxonomy of Drimia and certain allied genera. Journal of South African Botany 43
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Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
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