Lapeirousia is a genus in the plant family Iridaceae. It is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, about a third of the species occurring in fynbos.
Origin of genus name
The genus
Lapeirousia was described by Pierre André Pourret in Mém. Acad. Sci. Toulouse 3 : 79 (1788); Bak. In FC. 6 : 88 (1896) in part; Goldblatt in Contrib. Bol. Herb. 4 : 1 (1972); Sölch & Roessl. in FSWA. 155 : 6 (1969). Chasmatocallis Foster in Contrib. Gray Herb. 127 : 40 (1939).
[Dyer, R. Allen, “The Genera of Southern African Flowering Plants”. , 1975] He named the genus in honour of his friend, the botanist Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse. The inconsistent spellings of that name no doubt led to the original genus name being spelt "Lapeirousia" and contributed to various subsequent misspellings of the genus in various reference sources, notably "Lapeyrousia".
[Chittenden, Fred J. Ed., Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening, Oxford 1951] There also has been confusion leading to unfounded claims that the genus was named after the French mariner Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, who had nothing substantial to do with matters botanical, and was unrelated to de Lapeyrouse.
Description
Lapeirousia are
plants, usually small, and bearing
deciduous leaves. The corms are small, campanulate to triangular in outline, and flat-based. The tunics comprise hard, woody layers, of which the innermost layers are entire. The leaves are basal, often solitary. They may be plane and falcate, or linear and ribbed. Various forms of scape occur; they may be either subterranean or aerial, and simple or branched. The
inflorescence is a spike, sometimes contracted and fasciculate or a
Panicle. There are firm, green
, either small and subequal, or with the outer bract very large, often keeled, crisped and ribbed. The
perianth may be either
Floral symmetry or
Floral symmetry; the tube short or very long. It might be slender and cylindrical, adapted to
pollination by long-tongued flies, or it might be funnel-shaped. The flowers' lobes may be subequal and spreading, or unequal with upper largest petals erect, the lower three forming a lip. The
are symmetrically arranged. The fruit is a membranous capsule containing many small seeds, either globose or angled by pressure.
Species
About 26 species have been described from Southern Africa,
of which about a third are endemic to
fynbos. Common names are various and regional, including
painted petals,
cabong,
chabi,
koringblom (Afrikaans for "wheat flower"). The flowers are commonly scented, though possibly only at certain times of day.
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Lapeirousia anceps (L.f.) Ker Gawl.
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Lapeirousia angustifolia Schltr.
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Lapeirousia arenicola Schltr.
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Lapeirousia barklyi Baker
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Lapeirousia divaricata Baker
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Lapeirousia dolomitica Dinter
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Lapeirousia exilis Goldblatt
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Lapeirousia fabricii (D.Delaroche) Ker Gawl.
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Lapeirousia jacquinii N.E.Br.
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Lapeirousia kalahariensis Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
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Lapeirousia kamiesmontana Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
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Lapeirousia littoralis Baker
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Lapeirousia macrospatha Baker
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Lapeirousia montana Klatt
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Lapeirousia odoratissima Baker
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Lapeirousia oreogena Schltr. ex Goldblatt
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Lapeirousia plicata (Jacq.) Diels
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Lapeirousia purpurascens Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
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Lapeirousia purpurea Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
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Lapeirousia pyramidalis (Lam.) Goldblatt
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Lapeirousia silenoides (Jacq.) Ker Gawl.
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Lapeirousia simulans Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
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Lapeirousia spinosa (Goldblatt) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
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Lapeirousia tenuis (Goldblatt) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
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Lapeirousia verecunda Goldblatt
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Lapeirousia violacea Goldblatt
Traditional and current relevance
The plants are of considerable biological and evolutionary interest because of their adaptions to particular pollinators, such as flies in the families
Horse-fly,
Acroceridae,
Bombyliidae, and most spectacularly,
Nemestrinidae.
[Kearns, Carol Ann. Flies and Flowers, an Enduring Partnership. Wings, Fall, 2002]
Though most species of Lapeirousia are not showy, they are elegant and often fragrant. Collectors of fynbos plants value them.
The corms of several species were important sources of food for early hunter-gatherers. The vernacular names cabong or chabi are derived from Khoisan names for the plants.
Gallery
Lapeirousia anceps (2).jpg| Lapeirousia anceps flower
File:Lapeirousia arenicola (3891028827).jpg| Lapeirousia arenicola flower
File:Lapeirousia barklyi S-0370 684.jpg| Lapeirousia barklyi growth habit
Lapeirousia fabricii Flipphi 6.jpg| Lapeirousia fabricii growth habit
File:Lapeirousia jacquinii 5Dsr 0580.jpg| Lapeirousia jacquinii growth habit
File:Pale Pyramid Kabong.jpg| Lapeirousia pyramidalis closeup of flowers
Lapeirousa species 1114b.jpg|Lapeirousa sp., no Id. A common form of flower in this genus, with curiously non-perpendicular axis of symmetry and single floral guide
Lapeirousia species showing habit 1115c.JPG|Lapeirousia species, no Id. Showing habit in native setting, plus a modestly long perianth tube for the genus
