Blandfordia
Encyclopedia
Blandfordia is a genus
of flowering plant
s, placed in the family
Blandfordiaceae of the order
Asparagales
of the monocots. The genus is native to eastern Australia
. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as Christmas Bells due to the shape of their flowers and the timing of their flowering season in Australia
. Blandfordia was named by English botanist James Edward Smith
in 1804 in honour of George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough
, the Marquis of Blandford.
Blandfordia is the sole genus in the family Blandfordiaceae. Such a family has only recently been recognized by taxonomists. The APG III system
of 2009 (unchanged from the 1998
and 2003
versions) does recognize this family.
There are four species as follows:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s, placed in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Blandfordiaceae of the order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Asparagales
Asparagales
Asparagales is the name of an order of plants, used in modern classification systems such as the APG III system . The order takes its name from the family Asparagaceae and is placed in the monocots. The order has only recently been recognized in classification systems...
of the monocots. The genus is native to eastern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as Christmas Bells due to the shape of their flowers and the timing of their flowering season in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Blandfordia was named by English botanist James Edward Smith
James Edward Smith
Sir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world...
in 1804 in honour of George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough FSA , styled Marquess of Blandford until 1817, was a British peer and collector of antiquities and books.-Background and education:...
, the Marquis of Blandford.
Blandfordia is the sole genus in the family Blandfordiaceae. Such a family has only recently been recognized by taxonomists. The APG III system
APG III system
The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy...
of 2009 (unchanged from the 1998
APG system
The APG system of plant classification is the first, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was superseded in 2003 by a revision, the APG II system, and then in 2009 by a further...
and 2003
APG II system
The APG II system of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was a revision of the first APG system, published in 1998, and was superseded in 2009...
versions) does recognize this family.
There are four species as follows:
- Blandfordia cunninghamii Lindl.
- Blandfordia grandifloraBlandfordia grandifloraBlandfordia grandiflora is a species of flowering plant native to south-eastern Australia. B. grandiflora is commonly known as the Large Christmas Bell because it generally flowers in December and January. For this same reason it is the Australian Native Birthflower of December. It is a perennial...
R.Br. - Blandfordia nobilisBlandfordia nobilisBlandfordia nobilis, commonly known as Christmas Bells, is a tufted perennial herb native to eastern Australia. It grows on poor sandstone soils and swampy areas, between the towns of Sydney, Milton and Braidwood. Known as Gadigalbudyari in the Cadigal language of the local Indigenous...
Sm. - Blandfordia puniceaBlandfordia puniceaBlandfordia punicea, commonly known as Tasmanian Christmas Bell, is a species of flowering plant which is native to western Tasmania in Australia.The bell-shaped flowers are red with yellow tips and are about 4 cm long...
(Labill.) Sweet (Tasmanian Christmas Bell)
External links
- Blandfordiaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 27 April 2006. http://delta-intkey.com
- photograph of Blandfordia punicea at the Australian National Herbarium
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser
- links at CSDL, Texas