1090.010 Ledebouria Roth

Bulbous, perennial herbs, the bulbs never fibrous at apex. Leaves all basal, often with reddish or green spots or markings. Inflorescence axillary, flexuous to suberect. Bracts 1 or 2 per flower, not spurred. Flowers pink, pink-purple or white, often with greenish keels. Perianth segments spreading or recurved. Filaments free. Ovary conic, expanding to a wide base below which it contracts abruptly; ovules basal, 2 in each loculus. Fruit a loculicidal capsule. Seeds obovoid, reddish or yellowish brown, brown or black, shiny.

Derivation of name: after Carl Friedrich von Ledebour (1785-1851) German-Estonian botanist and professor of botany at Dorpat in Estonia.

Comment: Although distinct and recognizable as a genus, it has proven to be extremely difficult for us, if not impossible, to identify any specimens at species level which we have encountered over the years. Apart from some publications revising this genus in South Africa (Jessop 1970; Venter 1993; Venter & Edwards 1998, 2003) there is very little recent information. Consulting specimens at various herbaria (SRGH, BR) has not been helpful. On the contrary, many entirely different looking specimens were found labeled under the same name while others, completely indistinguishable to us, were found under various names. This has so far left us only with the conclusion that we do not seem to be alone in our struggle to identify the species of this genus.
We have therefore decided to create a number of unidentified species, listed below, to show images and notes on various specimens we encountered in the field. Some are similar and may well turn out be the same species, while others appear to be clearly different. Most, if not all, will belong to one or the other name in the list and we would very much appreciate any help in finding a name for at least some of these images.

Zimbabwe: 18 taxa.