Genus of flowering plants
Daubenya is a genus of bulbous flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae (also treated as the family Hyacinthaceae).[2] It is native to the Cape Province of South Africa.[1]
At first believed to consist of a single species, Daubenya aurea, the genus was expanded in 2000 to include the genera Androsiphonand Amphisiphon and various species that had previously been classified as Polyxena, Massonia, or Neobakeria. "The poor congruence between morphological and other characters within Hyacinthaceae has also made generic circumscriptions very difficult. One of the consequences of this has been the recognition of a large number of genera that are poorly defined morphologically."- (Speta 1998)
Description
Species of Daubenya grow from bulbs covered with a brownish tunic. Each bulb produces only two leaves, which appear with the flowers and normally spread out along the ground on either side. The inflorescence is a raceme, usually very condensed and close to the ground. Individual flowers are white, pink, yellow or red, sometimes with the tepals furthest from the flowering stem (i.e. on the outside of the inflorescence) larger than the others. The tepals are fused at the base forming a distinct tube. The stamens arise from the mouth of this tube, and are often very prominent. The more or less globe-shaped black seeds are produced inside a papery capsule.[3][4]
Species are variously pollinated by bees, butterflies, moths, the monkey beetle Lepisia glenlyonensis[5] and sunbirds.[6] The water-retaining nature of doleritic clays ensures their remaining moist for longer than clays formed from shales of the Karoo series. Exceptionally, D. namaquensisis, is found in deep red sands and D. zeyheri in calcareous coastal sands.
There is no formal conservation policy for Daubenya species and their future prospects remain bleak. Cultivated bulbs of D. aurea are on offer at commercial nurseries, though all the species are worthy of cultivation for their bright and often fragrant flowers.[7]
