Hypoxis curtissii |
Hypoxis |
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common yellow stargrass, Curtis' star-grass |
star-grass |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, scapose, glabrous or sparsely to densely pubescent, often pilose, pubescence including at least some irregularly stellate trichomes, rhizomatous or cormose. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stems | subterranean, usually vertical, fleshy. |
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Leaves | 3–12 mm wide, soft, flexible, glabrous or nearly so. |
grasslike; blade linear to setaceous. |
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Scape | (4–)5–13(–27) cm. |
usually shorter than leaves. |
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Inflorescences | racemose, 1–3(–7)-flowered; proximal 2 flowers, when present, not paired; bracts (3–)5–20(–80) mm. |
depauperate racemes or umbels, borne singly in leaf axils, bracteate. |
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Flowers | tepals 4–8(–11) × 0. |
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. |
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Fruits | capsular, crowned by persistent flower parts throughout maturation. |
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Seeds | black, lustrous, 1.2–1.6 mm, coarsely muricate. |
(5–)10–50 per capsule, ± globose, hilum and micropyle prominent, surfaces sharply to bluntly muricate or with rounded pebbling, sometimes with iridescent, membranous coat. |
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5 | –2.1 mm, 2 or less times longer than pedicel, usually 2 or less times longer than ovary; anthers 1–1.8 mm; ovary cylindric, (2–)3–6(–7) × 1–3 mm, glabrate or sparsely pubescent; pedicel (2–)5–12(–20) mm, usually shorter than bracts. |
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Hypoxis curtissii |
Hypoxis |
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Phenology | Flowering year round. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Riverbanks, floodplains | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA
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Mainly Southern Hemisphere |
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Discussion | When not in flower, the rosettes of Hypoxis curtissii can be easily mistaken for Cyperus, which grows in the same habitats. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 202. | FNA vol. 26, p. 201. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Hypoxis | Liliaceae | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Synonyms | H. erecta var. leptocarpa, H. hirsuta var. leptocarpa, H. leptocarpa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Rose: in J. K. Small, Fl. S.E. U.S., 287, 1329. (1903) | Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 986, 1366. (1759) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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