Zephyranthes Herb., Appendix 36. 1821; Fl. China @ eFloras.org 24: 264; Fl. North Amer. @ eFloras.org 26: 296.

Perennial herbs, scapose, bulbiferous, bulbs tunicate, ovoid or globose. Leaves several, fascicled, erect or recumbent, linear, rarely exceeding 1 cm in width. Scape slender hollow. Inflorescence solitary, terminal, erect, spathaceous, spathe proximally tubular, apically 2-notched. Flower bisexual, actinomorphic, epigynous, trimerous, pedicellate. Perianth funnelform to salverform, connate at base; tube short or long; lobes 6, subequal. Stamens 6, 3 long alternating with 3 short; inserted at throat or in perianth tube; filaments erect to slightly declinate; anthers submedially dorsifixed or versatile, usually parallel with floral axis, linear- oblong. Ovary inferior, trilocular, many ovules per loculus, placentation axile; style filiform; stigma 3-notched or 3-lobed, lobes linear. Fruit a capsule, subglobose or +/- oblate, 3-lobed, 3-locular, thin-walled, loculicidal, 3-valved. Seeds numerous, black, slightly flattened, D- or wedge-shaped, lustrous.

191 species

Zephyranthes candida Herb., Bot. Mag. 53: t. 2607. 1826; Fl. China @ eFloras.org 24: 265; Fl. North Amer. @ eFloras.org 26: 302; Amaryllis candida Lind., Bot. Reg. 9: t. 724. 1823; Agryopsis candida (Herb.) M. Roem., Fam. Nat. Syn. Monogr. 4: 125. 1847; Zephyranthes nivea (Schult. and Schult. f.) D. Dietrich. Syn. Pl. 2: 1176. 1840.

Perennial herbs, evergreen, bulbiferous, scapose; bulbs ovoid, ca. 2.5 cm in diameter, neck 2.5-5 cm. Leaves several, fascicled, erect or recumbent, bright green, linear, 20-35 cm x 2-5 mm, fleshy, apex acute or subacute. Flowers solitary on top of scape, scape 20-23 cm long solid, flat, 3-3.5 mm wide; spathe up to 3.2 cm long, basally tubular, apex bifid, membranous, green or reddish-brown; pedicel up to 3 cm long. Flowers 3.9-4.6 cm long and 4.5-5 cm across, bisexual, actinomorphic, epigynous, trimerous, white. Perianth white, often tinged pinkish abaxially, subrotate, connate at base; tube 1.2-1.5 cm long, green; lobes 6, erect in 2 whorls of 3 each, 3.8-4.5 cm x 0.9-1.8 cm, oblanceolate-elliptic or narrowly elliptic; lobes of two whorls equal or subequal, when subequal then lobes of outer whorl broader than of inner whorl. Stamens 6, 3 long (filaments ca. 1.7 cm long) alternating with 3 small (filaments ca. 1.3 cm long), inserted in basal part of perianth tube; anthers 6 mm long, versatile. Stamens sometimes show abnormalities: filaments modified into perianth-like modified structures with anthers attached laterally as in Canna. Ovary inferior, ca. 3 mm long, 3-locular, many ovules per loculus; style filiform ca. 3 cm long, much longer than the stamens; stigma trifid, lobes linear, 2.5-3 mm long.

Fruits not observed.

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