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Zephyranthes candida

(Flower-Of-The-Western-Wind)

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Autumn Rain-Lily, Autumn Zephyrlily, Fairy Lily, Flower-Of-The-Western-Wind, Peruvian Swamp-Lily, Rain Lily, Rain-Lily, White Rain-Lily, Zephyr Lily

Common Names in German:

Weiße Windblume

Common Names in Spanish:

Azucenita

Description

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Family Amaryllidaceae

Herbs perennial , rarely shrubby or treelike, often with bulbs, corms, rhizomes, or tubers. Leaves basal or cauline, often narrow, margin entire or spiny . Inflorescence a terminal spike, umbel, raceme , panicle, or flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual , actinomorphic or zygomorphic, usually subtended by 1 to several spathaceous involucres. Perianth segments 6, in 2 whorls, free or connate to form a short tube , with or without a corona . Stamens 6, inserted at perianth throat or at base of segments; filaments sometimes basally connate; anther dorsifixed or basifixed , mostly introrse . Ovary inferior, 3-loculed; ovules few to many per locule; placentation axile . Style slender; stigma capitate or 3-lobed. Fruit a capsule, usually loculicidal, sometimes dehiscing irregularly, rarely a berry. Seeds with endosperm.

More than 100 genera and 1200 species: tropical , subtropical , and temperate regions worldwide; ten genera and 34 species (14 endemic, four introduced ) in China.[1]

Genus Zephyranthes

Herbs, perennial , scapose , from bulbs. Bulbs black or brown, tunicate , ovoid or globose , sometimes with long neck. Leaves sessile, erect or recumbent , with overlapping sheathing bases ; blade linear , rarely exceeding 1 cm wide, smooth . Scape hollow. Inflorescence 1-flowered (rarely 2-flowered in Z. drummondii), spathaceous , otherwise ebracteate ; spathe proximally tubular . Flowers erect to declinate , actinomorphic ; perianth subrotate to funnelform to salverform , connate basally into tube , 2-16 cm; tepals subequal ; stamens 6, of 2 different lengths , appearing equal or subequal (anthers in 2 overlapping sets of 3) to unequal (anthers of the sets not overlapping in Z. longifolia) ; filaments inserted just above perianth tube, erect, diverging except when shorter than tube, long-filiform to short-subulate, those inserted on distal tepals usually 1+ mm longer than those inserted on proximal ones; anthers submedially dorsifixed , usually parallel with floral axis, linear-oblong; ovary inferior; style filiform ; stigma capitate or 3-fid with lobes linear; pedicel sometimes absent, hollow. Fruits capsular , thin-walled, 3-locular, subglobose or ± oblate . Seeds numerous , black, flat, D- or wedge-shaped, lustrous . x = 6.

Species ca. 70: se and sc United States, Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America.

In Zephyranthes, the degree of fusion of the perianth into a tube is reflected in flower form, filament length, staminal position, and the opening of the bud. Flowers with much-abbreviated perianth tubes are subrotate; with increasing degrees of perianth fusion, flower form shifts from subrotate to funnelform to salverform. The more the perianth is fused, the shorter the filaments in relative length. The longer the perianth tube, the less the stamens diverge, to the point of fasciculation. The timing of the opening of the bud and the expansion of the flower runs across this morphological spectrum from early morning (shortest tubes) through the day to the evening (longest tubes).

The phylogeny of Zephyranthes is not well understood. The species with long perianth tubes and fasciculate stamens are sometimes segregated in the genus Cooperia. While there is considerable diversity within Zephyranthes, splitting the genus into two genera by the degree of fusion of the perianth tube does not fit well with the continuity of the morphological spectrum and with the apparent hybrid origins of species in Texas and Mexico. By and large, species with linear stigmatic lobes bloom mid winter-spring-summer, while those with capitate stigmas bloom summer-fall. Many species with linear stigmatic lobes have leaves over 5 mm wide, but such wide leaves are not known in species with capitate stigmas. Whether there is particular generic significance in differences in stigmatic lobes (linear or capitate) or in filaments (filiform or subulate , and apically acute or blunt ) remains to be discovered.

The perianth tube as a portion of the perianth, the relative lengths of the filaments and perianth tube, the type of stigma, the spatial relationships of the stamens, and the position of the stigma relative to the anthers are critical characteristics in the separation of species of Zephyranthes. These characteristics, especially the capitate stigma, can be very difficult to determine in herbarium specimens, but reasonable determinations can usually be achieved with strong backlighting and practice. For consistency, almost all measurements given herein are from herbarium specimens. The width of the leaf shrinks in pressing and drying; generally the maximum width of a fresh leaf could be about one and one half that reported here.

It has been thought that pedicels are consistently either present or absent in species of Zephyranthes. This is belied by the occurrence of both pedicellate and sessile flowers within each of the three species (Z. atamasca, Z. treatiae, and Z. simpsonii) native to the southeastern United States.[2]

Physical Description

Species Zephyranthes candida

Leaf blade glossy deep green, to 3 mm wide. Spathe (1.8-) 2-4 cm. Flowers erect ; perianth white, sometimes pinkish abaxially, subrotate, 3-4.5 cm; perianth tube green, 0.1-0.4 cm, increasing in diam., less than 1/4 times perianth length , 1/5-1/3 times filament length, ca. 1/10 times spathe length; tepals not reflexed ; stamens diverging, subequal ; filaments filiform , 1-1.4 cm; anthers 5-8 mm; style longer than perianth tube; stigma capitate, usually among or exserted less than 2 mm beyond anthers; pedicel (0.4-) 1-2.5 cm, usually shorter than spathe. 2n = 38. [source]

W. Herbert (1837) suggested that Zephyranthes candida might belong in a segregate genus, and within ten years Rafinesque and M. Roemer each separated it from Zephyranthes. Its leaves are about twice as thick as those of other species in the genus, and they persist through winter frosts and snow, a rare, if not unique, characteristic in Zephyranthes. The stigmatic lobes are not globose , as in Z. chlorosolen, but are somewhat erect and might be described as very abbreviated linear lobes; a careful study of fresh stigmas of 'capitate' species is in order . Also, the chromosome complement of Z. candida appears to be anomalous within Zephyranthes. The species has been maintained in Zephyranthes for more than a century, but were Herbert, Rafinesque, and Roemer correct after all? [source]

Flowers: Bloom Period: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September. • Flower Color: near white, white

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 12-18" tall.

Habitat

Sandy humus soil, coastal plains ; 0-200 m [3].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,077 meters (0 to 10,095 feet).[4]

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 6-9" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Amaryllis candida Lindley, Bot. Reg. 9: Plate 724. 1823
  2. Argyropsis candida (Lindley) M. Roemer
  3. Asystasia coromandeliana Nees
  4. Atamosco candida (Lindley) Sasaki
  5. Justicia gangetica L.
  6. Plectronema candida (Lindley) Rafinesque

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Place of publication : Bot. Mag. 53: t. 2607. 1826

Name verified on 26-Apr-1996 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 22-May-1997

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Zephyranthes

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 205 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

Z. ackermannia · Z. acuminata · Z. aff. verecunda · Z. 'Ajax' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. akermanniana · Z. albicans · Z. albiella (Zephyr Lily) · Z. albolilacinus (Zephyr Lily) · Z. americana · Z. andersoniana · Z. andersonii · Z. andersonii var. rosea · Z. andicola · Z. 'Apricot Queen' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. 'Aquarius' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. arenicola (Zephyr Lily) · Z. atamasca (Occidental Swamp-Lily) · Z. atamasca (L.) Herb. var. treatiae (S.Watson) Meerow (Atamasco Lily) · Z. atamasca var. atamasca (Atamasco Lily) · Z. atamasca var. treatiae (Atamasco Lily) · Z. atamasco (Atamasco Lily) · Z. aurantiaca · Z. aurea (Zephyr Lily) · Z. bakeriana · Z. 'Batik' · Z. 'Bayberry Bells' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. bella (Zephyr Lily) · Z. 'Benidama' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. beustii · Z. bifolia (West Indian Zephyrlily) · Z. 'Big Dude' · Z. 'Big Shot' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. boliviensis (Zephyr Lily) · Z. brachyandra · Z. brasiliensis · Z. brazosensis · Z. brevipes · Z. breviscapa · Z. briquetii · Z. 'Bronze Beauty' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. caerulea · Z. candida (Flower-Of-The-Western-Wind) · Z. candida var. major · Z. capivarina (Zephyr Lily) · Z. 'Capricorn' · Z. cardinalis · Z. carinata · Z. cearensis (Zephyr Lily) · Z. challensis (Zephyr Lily) · Z. chichimeca · Z. chlorosolen (Drummonds Rain Lily) · Z. chrysantha (Zephyr Lily) · Z. ciceroana · Z. citrina (Yellow Zephyr Flower) · Z. clintiae · Z. commersoniana · Z. concolor (Zephyr Lily) · Z. 'Confection' · Z. conzattii · Z. 'Cookie Cutter Moon' · Z. 'Copper Mine' · Z. crociflora (Zephyr Lily) · Z. cubensis · Z. cutleri (Zephyr Lily) · Z. dichromantha (Zephyr Lily) · Z. drummondi · Z. drummondii · Z. eggersiana · Z. 'Ellen Korsakoff' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. 'El Cielo' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. erubescens (Zephyr Lily) · Z. filifolia (Zephyr Lily) · Z. 'Fireball' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. flaggii · Z. flammea · Z. flava (Zephyr Lily) · Z. flavescens · Z. flavissima (Yellow Rain Lily) · Z. fosteri (Zephyr Lily) · Z. franciscana · Z. gracilifolia · Z. gracilifolia var. bulula · Z. gracilis · Z. grandiflora (Rosepink Zephyrlily) · Z. 'Grandjax' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. guatemalensis (Zephyr Lily) · Z. herbertiana · Z. hieronymi · Z. huastecana (Zephyr Lily) · Z. insularum · Z. 'Ivory Star' (Rain Lily) · Z. 'Joann Trial' · Z. jonesii · Z. kansensis · Z. katherinae (Zephyr Lily) · Z. katherinae 'Jacala Crimson' (Zephyr Lily) · Z. katherinae var. lutea · Z. katherinae var. rubra · Z. katheriniae · Z. 'Krakatau'

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 22, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Zhanhe Ji & Alan W. Meerow "Amaryllidaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 264. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Raymond O. Flagg, Gerald L. Smith & Walter S. Flory "Zephyranthes". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 55, 281, 282, 296, 297, 298, 299, 303. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. "Zephyranthes candida". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 297, 299, 302, 303. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  4. Mean = 93.780 meters (307.677 feet), Standard Deviation = 385.260 based on 63 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/1/2009