Pillansia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1914. It contains only one known species, Pillansia templemannii, which is endemic to the Cape Province in South Africa.[1][2][3] It is called fireflag or pillansia in English.[4]
| Pillansia | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Spermatophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Subfamily: | Crocoideae |
| Tribe: | Watsonieae |
| Genus: | Pillansia L.Bolus |
| Species: | P. templemannii |
| Binomial name | |
| Pillansia templemannii | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Taxonomy
editThe fireflag was first named Wredowia pulchra by Danish apothecary Christian Friedrich Ecklon that is especially known for being an avid collector and researcher of plants in South Africa in 1827, but he failed to include a description, which makes this name invalid. The German medical docter Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel moved Ecklon's species and gave it the name Aristea wredowia, but also without providing a description. In 1892, British botanist John Gilbert Baker was the first to scientifically describe the fireflag and he called it Tritonia templemannii. South African botanist Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus was of the opinion that the species was sufficiently different from other members of the iris family that she moved it to a newly erected genus and created in 1914 the combination Pillansia templemannii. The species is assigned to the family Iridaceae, subfamily Crocoidae, tribe Watsonieae.[5]
The genus name is a tribute to the South African botanist Neville Stuart Pillans, who brought the species to the attention of Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus.[6] The species was named by Baker after nurseryman and plant collector Robert Templeman from Cape Town, who in 1887 collected the type specimen.[4]
References
edit- 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ↑ Innes, C. (1985). The World of Iridaceae: 1-407. Holly Gare International Ltd., Ashington.
- ↑ Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14.: i-vi, 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
- 1 2 Loretta Floors (December 2025). "Pillansia templemannii (Baker) L.Bolus". PlantZAfrica.com.
- ↑ Goldblatt, P.; Manning, J.C. (2020). Iridaceae of Southern Africa. Strelitzia 42. Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute. ISBN 978-1-928224-35-8.
- ↑ Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 127–30. ISBN 978-0-88192-897-6.
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