Genus: Chasmanthe
(Life; Embryophyta
(plants); Angiospermae (flowering plants);
Monocotyledons; Order: Asparagales; Family: Iridaceae)
Chasmanthe aethiopica
Helderberg Nature Reserve, August 1977 (Western Cape,
South Africa). |
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The 3 species are endemic to the Western
Cape and Eastern Cape and occur usually in bushy places or on forest margins.
Closely related to the genus Crocosmia.
Seeds are bright orange and are thought to be dispersed by
birds. Flowers are pollinated by sunbirds. Adaptations of the flower for
pollination include (Goldblatt & Manning 2000):
- tubular shape
- upper tepals longer than lower tepals.
- anthers protruding from the tube (i.e. exserted
anthers); and
- orange or red colour.
Publications
- de Vos, M.P. 1985. Revision of the South
African genus Chasmanthe (Iridaceae). South African Journal of
Botany 51: 253-261.
- de Vos, M.P. 1999. Ixia, Tritonia,
Crocosmia, Duthieastrum, Chasmanthe. Flora of southern Africa 7,2,
fascicle 1: 1-147.
- Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J.C. 2000.
Iridaceae. In: In: Seed Plants of
Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 623-638.
National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
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