| Eleutherine | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Liliopsida |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Subfamily: | Iridoideae |
| Tribe: | Tigridieae |
| Genus: | Eleutherine Herb. Edwards's Bot. Reg. 29: t. 57 (1843), nom. cons. |
| Type species | |
| Eleutherine plicata Herbert |
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| Species | |
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Eleutherine is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the Iris family (Iridaceae). The genus name may be derived from the Greek word eleuthera, meaning "free".[1]
The species of Eleutherine are characterized by a bulbous rootstock, a large subapical cauline leaf, and small, white, stellate, evening-blooming flowers. The more common E. bulbosa (syn. E. plicata) extends across South America from Bolivia and southeastern Brazil to the West Indies and is widely cultivated for its medicinal properties. Less well known is E. latifolia, with centers in northern Central America and subtropical South America. Both species have a basic chromosome number of x=6 (2n=12) and a similar bimodal karyotype, which is distinctive in Tigridieae; all other genera of the tribe have x=7. The common form of E. bulbosa has a heteromorphic long chromosome pair, the result of a pericentric inversion in one of the long chromosomes, and it is sexually sterile, unlike E. latifolia, which is self-compatible and autogamous.