Geosiris · Kew POWO · Kew Plants of the World Online
Geosiris
Sign in to saveGeosiris is a genus in the flowering plant family Iridaceae, first described in 1894. It was thought for many years to contain only one species, Geosiris aphylla, endemic to Madagascar. But then in 2010, a second species was described, Geosiris albiflora, from Mayotte Island in the Indian Ocean northwest of Madagascar. In 2017, a third species was found in Queensland, Australia, Geosiris australiensis.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassLiliopsida
- OrderAsparagales
- FamilyIridaceae
via GBIF · Kew POWO
Wikidata facts
Show 3 more facts
- taxon name
- Geosiris
- taxon common name
- māņīrisi
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~1 min read
Article
2 sectionsContents
- References
- External links
Geosiris is a genus in the flowering plant family Iridaceae, first described in 1894. It was thought for many years to contain only one species, Geosiris aphylla, endemic to Madagascar. But then in 2010, a second species was described, Geosiris albiflora, from Mayotte Island in the Indian Ocean northwest of Madagascar. In 2017, a third species was found in Queensland, Australia, Geosiris australiensis.
Geosiris aphylla is sometimes called the "earth-iris." It is a small myco-heterotroph lacking chlorophyll and obtaining its nutrients from fungi in the soil. The genus name is derived from the Greek words geos, meaning "earth", and iris, referring to the Iris family of plants.