Corymbium

plampers
Corymbyum glabrum[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Corymbioideae
Tribe: Corymbieae
Genus: Corymbium
L.
Type species
Corymbium africanum
L.
Synonyms[2]

Contarena Adans.

Corymbium is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family.[3] It is the only genus in the subfamily Corymbioideae and the tribe Corymbieae.[4][5]

The species are all endemic to the Cape Province of South Africa, where they are known commonly as plampers.[5]

These are perennial herbs growing from a thick, hairy rhizome. They are stemless, with the flowers borne on an erect scape. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped, sometimes narrowly oval in shape, with pointed tips and veins running the length of the blades. They are hairless to slightly hairy. At the top of the stout scape are panicles or corymbs of flower heads. Each head has a single floret. It is pink, purple, or white and tipped with five lobes. It is enclosed in a pair of narrow green to purplish bracts. The style is divided into two long, hairy branches. The achene is tipped with a pappus of scales or fine bristles.[5]

The plants produce copious nectar which attracts an assemblage of bees, wasps, beetles, and ants, which likely act as pollinators. Plants of the genus appear to be adapted to wildfire-prone habitat, and have been observed flowering most abundantly after fire.[5]

Species[5][6][2]
  1. Corymbium africanum
  2. Corymbium congestum
  3. Corymbium cymosum
  4. Corymbium elsiae
  5. Corymbium enerve
  6. Corymbium glabrum
  7. Corymbium laxum
  8. Corymbium theileri
  9. Corymbium villosum

References

  1. ↑ 1932 illustration by Rudolf Marloth, published in The Flora of South Africa, 1932
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist
  3. ↑ Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 928
  4. ↑ Panero, J. L. and V. A. Funk. (2009). New tribes in Asteraceae. Phytologia 91(3), 568-70.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Nordenstam, B. and V. A. Funk. Corymbieae. In: Funk, V. A., et al. Systematics, Evolution, and Biogeography of Compositae. Vienna, Austria: International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT). 2009. pp.487-91.
  6. ↑ Corymbium. The Plant List.

External links