Wurmbea Thunb., 1781

Heenan, Peter B., Macfarlane, Terry D., Case, Andrea L., Graham, Sean W., Vinnersten, Annika & Mitchell, Caroline, 2017, Morphological and phylogenetic relationships of the threatened geophyte Wurmbea novae-zelandiae (Colchicaceae) from New Zealand, with notes on typification, Phytotaxa 307 (2), pp. 123-132 : 128

Wurmbea Thunb. Type (holotype):— W. capensis Thunberg (1781: 18) .

= Anguillaria Brown (1810: 273) . Type (lectotype designated by Rickett & Stafleu 1959: 234):— A. dioica Brown (1810: 273) (typ. cons.) ≡ Wurmbea dioica (R.Br.) Mueller (1877: 119) .

= Onixotis Rafinesque (1837: 32) . Type (lectotype designated by Manning & Goldblatt 2012: 803):— O. ciliata ( Linnaeus 1782: 213) Rafinesque (1837: 32) = W. punctata (Linnaeus 1760: 10) J.C.Manning & Vinn. in Vinnersten & Manning (2007: 177).

= Neodregea Wright (1909: 308) . Type (holotype):— N. glassii Wright (1909: 309) ≡ Wurmbea glassii ( Wright 1909: 309) J.C.Manning & Vinn. in Vinnersten & Manning (2007: 177).

Description:—Hermaphrodite or (in some Australian species) sub-dioecious or dioecious glabrous herbs with a subterranean corm. Corm ovoid-ellipsoid-subglobose with numerous basal roots, covered by several layers of dark brown to black firm or papery tunics often prolonged into a neck surrounding the underground portion of the stem. A membranous, stem-sheathing cataphyll sometimes present. Stem erect, solitary, simple, solid, terminated by the inflorescence. Leaves (2–)3(–4), the number usually characteristic of a species, all cauline or one or two basal, alternate, spirally arranged, the cauline leaves with a tightly stem-sheathing portion, blade suberect-spreading or recurved, filiform or linear-lanceolate to ovate, attenuate from a ± dilated base, somewhat channelled with flat margins, parallelveined with numerous indistinct veins and a thicker midvein, green or glaucous, margins sometimes ciliolate, tip acute, acuminate or mucronate. Inflorescence an ebracteate spike-like scorpioid cyme, sometimes with a bract-like upper leaf situated just below the lowest flower, one- or few- to many-flowered, oblong or ovoid to narrowly oblong-cylindrical. Flowers sessile, closely to distantly spaced. Perianth actinomorphic, persistent or deciduous (in some African species). Tepals (3–)6(–8) or more, basally connate to various lengths, sometimes appearing free but joined minutely, often forming a distinct cylindrical or cup-shaped tube, the tube tissue sometimes expanded and spongy, sometimes somewhat spurred basally; segments suberect, erect-spreading or reflexed, ovate-lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, white, greenish-white, cream-coloured, yellow, pink, tawny, brownish, red-purple or blackish-brown, with or without darker coloured margins and tips, with or without one or two coloured spots or bands below to above the middle, obtuse or acute. Nectary present (rarely absent in African species?), one or two, slightly to widely separated, groove-like, with or without elevated margins, or spot-, band- or ridge-like, or poorly differentiated and obscure and located just above filament base or at tepal base within the perianth tube, concolorous with the perianth or contrastingly coloured. Stamens (3–)6(–8) or more, matching the tepal number); filaments inserted at for a varying distance above the perianth segment base, filament tissue contributing to the perianth tube, non-adnate part subulate-filiform or occasionally dilated, free or shortly connate above the insertion; anthers dorsifixed or rarely basifixed, versatile, bilocular, oblong-elliptic, dark red or yellow, dehiscing latrorsely with longitudinal slits. Pollen yellow; grains monosulcate, with foveolate or microreticulate exine surface. Ovary syncarpous or hemisyncarpous, (1–)3(–4)-carpellate, the carpel wings fully fused or (in Australasian species) free but touching nearly as deeply as the axis, normally trilocular and somewhat three-lobed, sessile, with several to many axile ovules. Ovules anatropous or campylotropous, montegmic, with (in Australian species) or without (in at least some African species) an obturator. Styles distinctly or indistinctly set off from the ovary, (1–)3(–4), filiform-subulate, suberect-spreading to rarely widely spreading, sometimes recurving with age, with a small or elongate stigma. Capsule ovoid-ellipsoid-oblong, dehiscing septicidally or rarely loculicidally or both (in some Australasian species) entirely or to about half its length. Seeds several to many, globose or nearly so, ca. 1 mm in diameter; testa firm, brown or black, with finely reticulate-colliculate surface. Endosperm firm, whitish, lipid-rich. Embryo small, elongate, 1/3–1/2 of seed diameter in length. About 50 described species, Africa, Australia, New Zealand.