Schizanthus
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Spanish Wikipedia. (December 2009) Click [show] on the right for instructions.
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| Schizanthus | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Solanaceae |
| Genus: | Schizanthus Ruiz & Pav. |
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Schizanthus (
/ˌskɨˈzænθəs/),[1]—common names butterfly flower, fringeflower, poor-man's-orchid—is a genus of plants in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family.
Many flowers have been compared to butterflies, but Schizanthus is the only one that has received the common name of "butterfly flower." The butterfly weed Asclepias and the butterfly bush Buddleja are named not because they resemble butterflies, but because they attract them.
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[edit] Taxonomy
Schizanthus comprises 12 species of annuals and biennials, which make up the monospecific subfamily, Schizanthoideae. This subfamily is the most basal grouping in Solanaceae, and is therefore sister to all higher taxa of the family[2][3].
[edit] Species
[edit] Cultivation
Schizanthus species are cultivated in the horticulture trade and widely available as an ornamental plant for gardens.
The flowers of Schizanthus are available in a wide range of colors and sizes, and are delicately spotted and blotched like the smaller butterflies. The blooms on a well-grown plant are produced in such profusion as to completely cover it. For the garden the dwarfed varieties should be chosen as the tall sorts grow rather slender and crooked. The leaves are attractive with soft green, deeply cut and fern like that are often covered with fine hair.
This flower was used by Celia Sánchez in the Cuban Revolution to hide telegrams.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- ^ Olmstead, R.G. and J.D. Palmer, 1992. A Cholorplast DNA Phylogeny of the Solanaceae: Subfamilial Relationships and Character Evolution. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 79: 346-360
- ^ Martins, T.R. and T.J. Barkman, 2005. Reconstruction of Solanaceae Phylogeny Using the Nuclear Gene SAMT. Systematic Biology 30(2): 435-447
[edit] References
- Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11892.
- Assimilated from the following sources Rodd Bryant, The Plant Finder, 2007, Firefly Books, several seed cataloges and a variety of websites
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