Gelasine elongata (Graham) Ravena

Echeverría, María L., Alonso, Sara I. & Comparatore, Viviana M., 2017, Survey of the vascular plants of Sierra Chica, the untouched area of the Paititi Natural Reserve (southeastern Tandilia mountain range, Buenos Aires province, Argentina), Check List 13 (6), pp. 1003-1036 : 1016-1017

Gelasine elongata (Graham) Ravena

Figure 9

Gelasine elongata (Graham) Ravena (1988) : 154— Flora Argentina (2017); Tropicos (2017).

Ferraria elongata Graham (1830) : 173.

Gelasine azurea Herbert (1840) : 3779 — Cabrera (1968): 543.

Cryptophyte, native with distribution in the Southern Cone Region of South America.

Characteristics. Perennial bulbous herb, to 80 cm tall. Basal leaves linear, ca 25 cm long, 3 cm wide, sword-

shaped, folded, parallel-veined, semi-coreaceus; superior leaves scarce. Inflorescence: a cyme with 1–3 flowers; tepals blue with dark spots at base. Fruit: a capsule.

Comments. This is an infrequent species in the study area. It grows in full sunlight conditions and deep to moderate deep soils on rocky and grassy slopes. Gelasine elongate is the only species of its genus known from Buenos Aires province, and it can be recognized by its folded leaves and blue tepals.