Sternbergia is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae.[4][5] The genus comprises eight recognised species that show a broad distribution throughout the Mediterranean Basin as well as central and southwestern Asia.[6][7][8][9][10]

Description

Flowering Sternbergia lutea

Vegetative characteristics

Sternbergia are small, bulbous,[11] perennial plants[12] with tunicate bulbs and linear to strap-shaped leaves.[13] The membranous tunics are black or brown.[12]

Generative characteristics

The six stamens and style of Sternbergia lutea

Sternbergia contains a number of species of flowering bulbs which rather resemble Crocus. These plants produce golden-yellow goblet-shaped flowers borne on stalks some way above the ground that open during the autumn or early winter. The flower is composed of six stamens and a single style attached to an inferior ovary. Long, strap-like leaves may appear with the flowers or sometime after. The only two exceptions to this are S. vernalis and S. candida which flower in the spring, with S. candida producing striking white flowers.

The genus has gained notability due to the widespread use of one of its species, S. lutea, as a garden plant. This species has been found in cultivation for several hundred years, and has become naturalised in many parts of northern Europe, well beyond its natural range.

Cytology

The chromosome count is 2n = 20 or 2n = 22.[14][15]

Taxonomy

Sternbergia lutea was first described in 1601 by Clusius, who included the plants in the genus Narcissus.[16] Carl Linnaeus in 1753 regarded them as part of Amaryllis.[17] It was not until 1825 that the species was transferred to Sternbergia,[18] using the generic name coined in 1804.[4]

Etymology

The genus name Sternbergia honours the botanist Kaspar Maria von Sternberg.[19][20]

Species

As of April 2015, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognizes eight species:[3]

formerly included[3]

Three names have been coined using the name Sternbergia but referring to species now considered better suited to other genera (Colchicum, Narcissus and Zephyranthes). We provide links to help you find appropriate information.

Conservation

The trade of Sternbergia is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, as it is included in the CITES Appendix II.[2] The IUCN conservation status of Sternbergia pulchella is Data Deficient (DD).[21]

References

  1. ^ Tropicos, Sternbergia Waldst. & Kit.
  2. ^ a b Sternbergia. (n.d.). Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Retrieved February 10, 2025, from https://cites.org/eng/taxonomy/term/7945
  3. ^ a b c WCSP (2011), World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2015-04-07, search for "Sternbergia"
  4. ^ a b Waldstein, Franz de Paula Adam von & Kitaibel, Pál. 1804. Descriptiones et Icones Plantarum Rariorum Hungariae 2: 172
  5. ^ Stevens, P.F., Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Amaryllidoideae
  6. ^ Gage, Ewan; Wilkin, Paul; Chase, Mark W. & Hawkins, Julie (2011). "Phylogenetic systematics of Sternbergia (Amaryllidaceae) based on plastid and ITS sequence data". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 166 (2): 149–162. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2011.01138.x.
  7. ^ Mathew, B. (1983). A Review of the Genus Sternbergia. The Plantsman 5: 1–16.
  8. ^ Mathew, B. (1984). Sternbergia. In: Davis, PH, ed., Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands 8: 360–364. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
  9. ^ Pasche E, Kerndorff, H. (2002). Die Gattung Sternbergia Waldst. & Kit.(Asparagales, Amaryllidaceae) im Vergleich, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der wiederentdeckten Sternbergia schubertii Schenk. Stapfia 80: 395–417.
  10. ^ Atervista Flora Italiana, genere Sternbergia
  11. ^ Grey Wilson, C. (2024). Alpines: The Complete Gardener's Guide. Vereinigtes Königreich: Crowood Press.
  12. ^ a b The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors and Under Glass. p. 199. (2011). Vereinigtes Königreich: Cambridge University Press.
  13. ^ Ellis, B. W. (2001). Taylor's Guide to Bulbs: How to Select and Grow 480 Species of Spring and Summer Bulbs. p. 385. USA: Houghton Mifflin.
  14. ^ Lorenzo, P., Benedetto, C. D., Aquaro, G., & Caparelli, K. F. (2008). The genus Sternbergia Waldst. & Kit.(Amaryllidaceae) in Italy. Contribution to the cytotaxonomical and morpho-anatomical knowledge. Caryologia, 61(1), 107-113.
  15. ^ Ünal, F., YÜzbaŞ? oǧlu, D., & Duman, H. (1997). Karyotyping in Sternbergia clusiana and S. colchiciflora (Amaryllidaceae) from Turkey. Hereditas, 126(3), 277-280.
  16. ^ Carolus Clusius. 1601. Rariarum plantarum historia
  17. ^ Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Amaryllis. Species Plantarum 1:292-294 in Latin
  18. ^ Ker Gawler, John Bellenden ex Sprengel, Curt Polycarp Joachim. 1825. Systema Vegetabilium, editio decima sexta 2: 57 in Latin
  19. ^ Sternbergia lutea. (2022, October 14). Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Retrieved February 10, 2025, from https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/the-garden/plant-list/sternbergia-lutea/
  20. ^ Sternbergia lutea. (n.d.). Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved February 10, 2025, from https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c751
  21. ^ El Zein, H., Semaan, M., Bou Dagher Kharrat, M. & Lansdown, R.V. 2018. Sternbergia pulchella. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T13147429A18610073. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T13147429A18610073.en. Accessed on 10 February 2025.
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