Home | > | List of families | > | Commelinaceae | > | Cyanotis | > | barbata |
Synonyms: |
Cyanotis abyssinica A. Rich. Cyanotis abyssinica A. Rich. var. glabrescens A. Rich. Cyanotis hirsuta Fisch., C.A. Meyer & Avé-Lall. var. glabra K. Schum. Cyanotis hirsuta Fisch., C.A. Meyer & Avé-Lall. Cyanotis parasitica (Hassk.) Hassk. Zygomanes parasitica Hassk. |
Common names: | |
Frequency: | Locally occasional |
Status: | Native |
Description: |
Perennial herb with ascending or decumbent stems up to 45 cm long, arising from an underground corm. Basal leaf rosettes absent. Leaves along the stems often tinged reddish purple, linear lanceolate up to 19 cm long, sheathing at the base for up to 3 cm, more or less hairy on both surfaces; margins ciliate. Inflorescences from the upper 1-3 nodes. Bracts boat-shaped,1-8 cm long. Flowers subsessile 1-1.5 cm in diameter, opening in the morning blue to mauve, pink or magenta, rarely white or violet. Stamens 6, densely bearded with hairs of similar or contrasting colours. ; anthers sometimes dark blue, brown or black near the base, rest yellow to orange. |
Notes: | |
Derivation of specific name: | barbata: with tufts of hairs, bearded |
Habitat: | Among rocks in montane grassland, vleis, forest margins and in shallow soil on rocks. |
Altitude range: (metres) | |
Flowering time: | |
Worldwide distribution: | Ghana, Cameroon, Bioko, DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Also in Yemen, India, Nepal, Bhutan and China. |
Zimbabwe distribution: | E |
Growth form(s): | |
Endemic status: | |
Red data list status: | |
Insects associated with this species: | |
Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
Images last updated: | Monday 10 August 2015 |
Literature: |
Baumann, G. (2005). Photographic Guide to Wildflowers of Malawi Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi Pages 244 - 245. (Includes a picture). Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 294. Chapano, C. & Mamuto, M. (2003). Plants of the Chimanimani District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 18. Faden, R. (2012). Commelinaceae Flora of Tropical East Africa Pages 20 - 22. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 87. Strugnell, A.M. (2006). A Checklist of the Spermatophytes of Mount Mulanje, Malawi Scripta Botanica Belgica 34 National Botanic Garden of Belgium Page 70. Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 82. |
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