Wurmbea tenella
Wurmea tenella (photo K.R.Thiele)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Colchicaceae
Genus: Wurmbea
Species:
W. tenella
Binomial name
Wurmbea tenella
Synonyms[3]

Anguillaria tenella Endl.

Wurmbea tenella, common name - eight nancy, is a perennial herb in the Colchicaceae family that is native to Western Australia.[4]

Description

Wurmbea tenella grows to 10 cm tall. It has three well separated leaves (or the upper two may be close together below the flower). It has one bisexual flower (occasionally two). The perianth is 6 to 7 mm long with usually 6, 7 or 8 tepals. These are joined for less than a fifth of their length, and are white, often with a pink flushing. The stamens are about 2/3 the length of the perianth. The purple or red anthers are about 1 mm long, and the styles are free.[5]

Habitat

It grows in places which are seasonally wet, often on or near granite outcrops, but is also found on sandy plains, on salty red loam amongst chenopods, on limestone plains and in eucalypt woodlands.[5]

Taxonomy & naming

The species was first formally described in 1846 by Austrian botanist Stephen Endlicher in Plantae Preissianae, based on plant material found in the "damp and muddy sanddunes of the Swan River near the town of Perth".[1][6] He gave it the name Anguillaria tenella. The species was transferred to the genus Wurmbea in 1878 by George Bentham.[1][2]

The specific epithet, tenella, is a Latin adjective (tenellus, -a, -um) which describes the plant as "delicate".[7]

Conservation status

Wurmbea tenella is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Wurmea tenella". Australian Plant Name Index, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. 1 2 Bentham, G. (1878) Flora Australiensis 7: 28
  3. ↑ "Wurmbea tenella (Endl.) Benth. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Wurmbea tenella". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  5. 1 2 Macfarlane, T.D. (2017). "Wurmbea tenella. In: Flora of Australia". profiles.ala.org.au. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  6. ↑ Endlicher, S.F.L. in Lehmann, J.G.C. (ed.) (1846) Melanthaceae. Plantae Preissianae 2(1): 45
  7. ↑ Stearn, W.T. (2004). Botanical Latin (4th ed). Timber Press, Oregon. p. 511. ISBN 9780881926279.


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