Zephyrantheae Salisb. is a now obsolete tribe within the American clade of family Amaryllidaceae (subfamily Amaryllidoideae), containing five genera (Habranthus, Pyrolirion, Rhodophiala, Sprekelia, Zephyranthes).[1][2][3][4]
corona absent, stem leafless, ovules many, perianth tube present, flowers solitary or paired.[3]
Richard Anthony Salisbury in his original description in 1866, defined the Zephyrantheae as an 'Order' with two sections and a number of subgroups, such as Omphalissa.[5]
The composition has varied, given the considerable rearrangements of the Amaryllidaceae that have taken place. For instance Hickey and Clive (1997) describe the Zephyrantheae as being one of ten tribes by which the Amaryllidaceae are divided, allocating Zephyranthes and Sternbergia to this tribe,[3] while Traub (1952) included Habranthus.[2] Other genera that have been placed in this tribe include Cooperia, Haylockia, Apodolirion, and Gethyllis.[6]
In his 1963 monograph on Amaryllidaceae, Traub lists six species, Rhodophiala, Haylockia, Pyrolirion, Zephyranthes, Habranthus and Sprekelia.[7] Meerow et al. (1999) provides an account (Table 1) of the subsequent rearrangement of Traub's genera, and of the modern molecular based phylogeny (see also Taxonomy of Amaryllidoideae).[8]