Xeronema
Encyclopedia
Xeronema is a genus
of flowering plant
s containing two species:
The APG II system
, of 2003, has accepted this genus as constituting its own family Xeronemataceae
. It places this in the order Asparagales
, in the clade monocots.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
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 containing two species:
- The Poor Knights lily (Xeronema callistemonXeronema callistemonXeronema callistemon is a species of flowering plant endemic to the Poor Knights Islands and Taranga Island in the north of New Zealand. It was discovered in 1924 and has a common name Poor Knights Lily...
) is endemic to the Poor Knights IslandsPoor Knights IslandsThe Poor Knights Islands are a group of islands off the east coast of the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. They are located to the northeast of Whangarei, and lie offshore half way between Bream Head and Cape Brett. Uninhabited since the 1820s, they are a nature reserve and...
and Taranga Island in the north of New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It was discovered in 1924. The Poor Knights lily has large bottlebrush flowerFlowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
clusters that grow horizontally. The clusters begin growing vertically and then bend sideways. Bright red flowers grow upward from the stalk, with bright orange pollenPollenPollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
. The plant can reach a height of one metre tall and across. - The genus has one other species, Xeronema moorei, which is found in New CaledoniaNew CaledoniaNew Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
.
The APG II system
APG II system
The APG II system of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was a revision of the first APG system, published in 1998, and was superseded in 2009...
, of 2003, has accepted this genus as constituting its own family Xeronemataceae
Xeronemataceae
Xeronemataceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots.The name was published in 2000 and has therefore been recognized only in recent taxonomies...
. It places this in the order Asparagales
Asparagales
Asparagales is the name of an order of plants, used in modern classification systems such as the APG III system . The order takes its name from the family Asparagaceae and is placed in the monocots. The order has only recently been recognized in classification systems...
, in the clade monocots.
External links
- Endémia: Faune & Flore de Nouvelle-Calédonie, URL: Xeronema moorei
- New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, URL: Xeronema callistemon f. callistemon, accessed 03 October 2010.
- New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, URL: Xeronema callistemon f. bracteosa, accessed 03 October 2010.
- Strange Wonderful Things.com, URL: The Poor Knight's lily