Merwilla

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Merwilla
Merwilla plumbea

Merwilla plumbea

Systematics
Class : Bedecktsamer (Magnoliopsida)
Monocots
Order : Asparagales (Asparagales)
Family : Asparagaceae (Asparagaceae)
Subfamily : Scilloideae
Genre : Merwilla
Scientific name
Merwilla
Speta

The merwilla are a genus within the family asparagaceae (Asparagaceae). The only three species are distributed from southern tropical Africa to South Africa and are called Wild squill (English), Blue squill (English), Blue hyacinth (English), Blouberglelie (Afrikaans), Blouslangkop (Afrikaans) or Inguduza (Zulu). One species, Merwilla plumbea , is used as an ornamental plant.

description

Detail of an inflorescence of Merwilla plumbea with three-fold flowers.

Appearance and leaves

Merwilla species grow as perennial herbaceous plants . These geophytes form very large, only partially subterranean onions as persistence organs whose compact onion leaves last for up to four years and whose casing (“tunic”) is yellow to gray on the inside, brown on the outside and cartilaginous. The thick roots are branched.

The leaves stand together in a basal rosette. The simple leaf blades are relatively broad and glabrous or hairy. There is a parallel nerve.

Inflorescences and flowers

Terminally on more or less long, bare or sometimes hairy inflorescence shafts are conical to cylindrical, racemose inflorescences that contain few to many flowers. There are narrow cover sheets .

The stalked, hermaphrodite flowers are radial symmetry and threefold. The six uniformly shaped bracts are free and stand together in a star shape . The colors of the bracts are blue to mauve. There are two circles with three stamens each. The white stamens are triangular and widened at their base. The anthers are relatively small. The three pistils have become an almost spherical, Upper permanent ovary grown. There are 4 to 40 ovules per ovary chamber . The stylus is about 1 mm long.

Fruits and seeds

The spherical capsule fruits contain a few seeds in each fruit compartment. The seeds are elongated and flattened. The seeds can germinate for a maximum of six months.

Blooming inflorescence of Merwilla plumbea .
Freshly sprouting onions of Merwilla plumbea , only a more or less large part is underground.

Systematics and distribution

The genus Merwilla was created in 1998 for species that were separated from the genus Scilla by Franz Speta in Systematic Analysis of the genus Scilla L. (Hyacinthaceae). In: Phyton (horn). Volume 38, p. 107 prepared. The generic name Merwilla honors the South African amateur botanist Frederick von der Merwe (1894–1968) and is composed of Merwe and Scilla .

The genus merwilla belongs to subtribe Massoniinae from the tribe Hyacintheae in the subfamily of Scilloideae within the family Asparagaceae . It was previously classified in the Hyacinthaceae or Liliaceae families.

The genus Merwilla is distributed from southern tropical Africa to South Africa (two species). There are only three types of Merwilla :

  • Merwilla dracomontana (Hilliard & BLBurtt) Speta (Syn .: Scilla dracomontana Hilliard & BLBurtt ): It only occurs in KwaZulu-Natal , its stocks are considered stable and it is rated as “Least Concern” = “not endangered”.
  • Merwilla lazulina (Wild) Speta (Syn .: Scilla lazulina Wild ): It occurs in southern tropical Africa in Malawi , Mozambique and Zimbabwe .
  • Merwilla plumbea (Lindl.) Speta (Syn .: Scilla plumbea Lindl. , Scilla natalensis Planch. , Scilla kraussii Baker , Merwilla kraussii (Baker) Speta , Merwilla natalensis (Planch.) Speta ): She comes from KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape , Free State , Lesotho , Swaziland and Mpumalanga and is considered "Near Threatened". It thrives in grasslands in the mountain fog zone and Ngongoni grasslands, on rocky locations and well-drained slopes at altitudes between 300 and 2500 meters.

use

Merwilla plumbea is used as an ornamental plant.

The onions in particular are poisonous and at certain times of the year cattle poison themselves from Merwilla plumbea . From Merwilla plumbea , preparations made from onions are used in folk medicine for many diseases.

swell

  • John Manning: Field guide to wild flowers of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Struik Nature, Cape Town 2009, ISBN 978-1-77007-758-4 : Merwilla on p. 88 (sections description, distribution and systematics)
  • Franz Speta : Systematic analysis of the genus Scilla L. (Hyacinthaceae). In: Phyton (horn). Volume 38, 1998, pp. 1-141. (Full text PDF)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Alice Notten: Merwilla plumbea ( Memento from June 30, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) at PlantzAfrika of the South African National Biodiversity Institute = SANBI , 2001. Accessed April 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ a b c Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Merwilla. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g John Manning: Field guide to wild flowers of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Struik Nature, Cape Town 2009, ISBN 978-1-77007-758-4 : Merwilla on p. 88.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Franz Speta : Systematic analysis of the genus Scilla L. (Hyacinthaceae). In: Phyton (horn). Volume 38, 1998, pp. 1-141. (Full text PDF)
  5. ↑ a b Merwilla at the pacificbulbsociety . Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  6. ^ A b Merwilla in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  7. ↑ a b c D. Raimondo, L. von Staden, W. Foden, JE Victor, NA Helme, RC Turner, DA Kamundi, PA Manyama: Entry in the Red List of South African Plants of the South African National Biodiversity Institute = SANBI, 2009. Retrieved April 10, 2013

Web links

Commons : Merwilla  - collection of images, videos and audio files