Romulea, Maratti, 1772

Manning, John C. & Goldblatt, Peter, 2001, the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra including new species, biological notes, and a new infrageneric classification, Adansonia (3) 23 (1), pp. 59-108 : 68

ROMULEA Maratti

Pl. Romul. Saturn.: 13, pl. 1 (1772). — Type: Romulea bulbocodium ( L.) Seb. & Maur. (type cons.) .

Crocus L., Sp. Pl. 1: 36 (1753), partly.

Bulbocodium Mill., Fig. Pl. 160 (1760).

Ixia L., Sp. Pl. ed. 2: 51 (1762), partly.

Ilmu Adans., Fam. Pl. 2: 497 (1763).

Trichonema Ker-Gawl. , Curtis’s Bot. Mag. 16: t. 575 (1802).

Spatalanthus Sweet, Brit. Fl. Gard. 3: t. 300 (1829).

Deciduous perennials. Rootstock a globose, bell-shaped or asymmetric corm, often with a circular to crescent-shaped basal ridge from which roots emerge, basal in origin, tunics woody to cartilaginous or firm-papery, rarely fibrous. Stem short, subterranean or aerial, occasionally hairy, usually branched, sometimes below ground, branches (peduncles) often coiled in fruit. Leaves few to several, lower 2 or 3 cataphylls; foliage leaves 1-several, unifacial, usually with a definite midrib, all basal or some cauline, ± filiform or cylindric, straight or twisted, occasionally hairy on margins, usually midrib and margins thickened, blade thus oval to terete in transverse section with 2 sinuses on each surface between margins and midrib, occasionally up to 8- grooved or nearly plane with lightly thickened margins and midrib, sometimes winged, rarely bifacial and channelled. Inflorescence composed of solitary flowers terminal on peduncles; bracts green, margins of outer sometimes and of inner always membranous to scarious and pale or ferrugineous, occasionally inner bract entirely dry, rarely hairy, inner usually acute and undivided apically. Flowers thermonastic, regular, mostly campanulate, cup deep or shallow, sometimes hypocrateriform, variously colored, often discolorous and paler in center, sometimes with darker markings; perianth tube usually short and funnelshaped, sometimes elongate and cylindric; tepals equal or subequal, usually ascending below and spreading above. Stamens: filaments erect, ± contiguous, canaliculate on inner surface, sometimes united, frequently somewhat swollen and hairy below; anthers diverging or contiguous; pollen monosulcate, operculate, exine perforate. Style filiform, exserted from tube, enclosed by filaments, branches short, usually divided for half their length, rarely multifid. Capsules oblong to subglobose. Seeds globose or lightly angled, flattened at chalazal end, smooth, matte, surface laevigate or areolate. Basic chromosome number x = 14 or 13, other base numbers 12, 11, 10, 9.