Calibanus
Encyclopedia
Calibanus is a genus of two species of flowering plant
s, both evergreen succulents from dry areas of Mexico. In the APG III classification system
, it is placed in the family
Asparagaceae
, subfamily Nolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae). It was formerly included in the Agavaceae (now Agavoideae) but is now separated for it is polycarpic
and dioecious
.
The botanical name is after the character of monster, "Caliban" in Shakespeare's "The Tempest". Calibanus is dioecious (male and female flowers are on separate plants). The plant has tuberous roots called caudex
, which means swollen succulent roots. It is an extreme drought and tolerant plant with slow-growing habit. The caudex can grow to 1m in diameter with clumps of green-blue, coarse, grass-like and wiry leaves 50cm long upright from the center, then arch down with ages. Clusters of very tiny decorative flowers in creamy-white, sometimes tinged with pink or purple, are rigid about 10-20cm long. Female plants bear globose, ovoid, 3-angled berries with mellon-shaped seeds.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s, both evergreen succulents from dry areas of Mexico. In the APG III classification system
APG III system
The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy...
, it is placed in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Asparagaceae
Asparagaceae
Asparagaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots.In earlier classification systems, the species involved were often treated as belonging to the family Liliaceae...
, subfamily Nolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae). It was formerly included in the Agavaceae (now Agavoideae) but is now separated for it is polycarpic
Polycarpic
Polycarpic plants are those that flower and set seeds many times before dying....
and dioecious
Dioecious
Dioecy is the property of a group of biological organisms that have males and females, but not members that have organs of both sexes at the same time. I.e., those whose individual members can usually produce only one type of gamete; each individual organism is thus distinctly female or male...
.
The botanical name is after the character of monster, "Caliban" in Shakespeare's "The Tempest". Calibanus is dioecious (male and female flowers are on separate plants). The plant has tuberous roots called caudex
Caudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
, which means swollen succulent roots. It is an extreme drought and tolerant plant with slow-growing habit. The caudex can grow to 1m in diameter with clumps of green-blue, coarse, grass-like and wiry leaves 50cm long upright from the center, then arch down with ages. Clusters of very tiny decorative flowers in creamy-white, sometimes tinged with pink or purple, are rigid about 10-20cm long. Female plants bear globose, ovoid, 3-angled berries with mellon-shaped seeds.