Hypoxis
Hypoxis sessilis
star-grass
glossyseed yellow star-grass
subterranean, usually vertical, fleshy.
grasslike;
blade linear to setaceous.
0.
usually shorter than leaves.
(3–)4–9(–14) cm.
depauperate racemes or umbels, borne singly in leaf axils, bracteate.
racemose, 1(–2)-flowered;
proximal 2 flowers, when present, not paired;
bracts (2–)3–7(–8) mm.
tepals 6, spreading, distinct, often greenish abaxially, yellow adaxially, outer usually ± pilose abaxially;
anthers 6, spreading, shortly connate at bases;
ovary inferior, usually densely pubescent to pilose, sometimes glabrate;
style erect.
tepals (6–)7–10(–13) × 0.9–2.4 mm (chasmogamous flowers), shorter to longer than pedicel, 1.5–2 times as long as ovary;
anthers 1.1–2.2 mm;
ovary oblanceoloid, (3–)4–5(–6) × 1.5–2.5 mm, densely pilose;
pedicel (2–)3–7(–8) mm, equaling or slightly shorter than bracts.
capsular, crowned by persistent flower parts throughout maturation.
(5–)10–50 per capsule, ± globose, hilum and micropyle prominent, surfaces sharply to bluntly muricate or with rounded pebbling, sometimes with iridescent, membranous coat.
black beneath loose, iridescent, membranous coat, (1.3–)1.4–2 mm, with rounded pebbling.
–5 mm wide, soft, usually stiff, sparsely to densely pubescent.
Hypoxis
Hypoxis sessilis
Species 100 (7 in the flora).
Most species of Hypoxis are in southern Africa. The key to flowering plants presented below will work for most specimens; some specimens have intermediate characteristics and are impossible to identify without seeds. When mature seeds are available, identifications should be confirmed by examination of the seed characters. Relationships among the species in the flora are uncertain and will remain so until a better understanding of the primarily African H. angustifolia complex is reached. Therefore, species are treated here in alphabetical order.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Although there is a strong tendency for summer flowering in Hypoxis sessilis, in the southern part of its range it will flower at any time of year in response to fire or other disturbances.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaves glabrous or nearly so, or with scattered trichomes near base. | → 2 |
1. Leaves sparsely to densely pubescent, at least near base. | → 4 |
2. Leaves 0.3–1 mm wide, hard, stiff; floral bracts 1–7(–12) mm; ovary densely pubescent; seeds with low, rounded sculpturing. | H. juncea |
2. Leaves 1–15 mm wide, soft, flexible; floral bracts 1–20(–80) mm; ovary glabrate or sparsely to densely pubescent; seeds muricate. | → 3 |
3. Pedicel usually 2+ times longer than bracts; tepals much longer than ovary; ovary obconic, densely pubescent. | H. hirsuta |
3. Pedicel usually shorter than bracts; tepals usually 2 or less times longer than ovary; ovary cylindric, glabrate or sparsely pubescent. | H. curtissii |
4. Pedicel usually 2+ times longer than bracts. | → 5 |
4. Pedicel usually less than 2 times as long as bracts. | → 6 |
5. Leaves 1–15 mm wide; seeds coarsely muricate. | H. hirsuta |
5. Leaves 0.3–1 mm wide; seeds with low, rounded sculpturing. | H. juncea |
6. Pedicel usually longer than bracts; tepals longer than pedicel; anthers 1.5–3.5 mm; (old leaf bases persisting as bristles). | H. rigida |
6. Pedicel shorter to longer than bracts; tepals shorter to longer than pedicel; anthers 0.6–2.2 mm. | → 7 |
7. Tepals 1.5–2 times as long as ovary. | H. sessilis |
7. Tepals less than 1.5 times as long as ovary. | → 8 |
8. Scape topped by 2 opposite bracts. | H. mexicana |
8. Scape topped by 1 bract or, if inflorescences 2- or more-flowered, bracts not opposite. | H. wrightii |
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