Ornithogalum thyrsoides

Short description: Species of flowering plant

Ornithogalum thyrsoides

Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Plantae
Clade:  | Tracheophytes
Clade:  | Angiosperms
Clade:  | Monocots
Order:  | Asparagales
Family:  | Asparagaceae
Subfamily:  | Scilloideae
Tribe:  | Ornithogaleae
Genus:  | Ornithogalum
Species:  |

O. thyrsoides

Binomial name
Ornithogalum thyrsoides

Jacq.

Synonyms[1]

List

*     * Eliokarmos  ceresianus (F.M.Leight.) Mart.-Azorín, M.B.Crespo & Juan
* Eliokarmos  coarctatum (Jacq.) Raf.
* Eliokarmos  thyrsoides (Jacq.) Raf.
* Lomaresis  alba Raf.
* Myogalum  coarctatum (Jacq.) Endl.
* Myogalum  thyrsoides (Jacq.) Endl.
* Ornithogalum  bicolor Haw.
* Ornithogalum  ceresianum F.M.Leight.
* Ornithogalum  coarctatum Jacq.
* Ornithogalum  conicum Willd. ex Kunth nom. inval.
* Ornithogalum  gilgianum Schltr. ex Poelln.
* Ornithogalum  grimaldiae Nocca
* Ornithogalum  hermannii F.M.Leight.
* Ornithogalum  revolutum Jacq.
* Tomoxis  coarctata (Jacq.) Raf.

Ornithogalum thyrsoides[2] is a bulbous plant species that is endemic to the Cape Province in South Africa . It is also known by the common names of chinkerinchee or chincherinchee, star-of-Bethlehem or wonder-flower.[3] It produces long-lasting flowers prized as cut flowers.[4]

## Contents

* 1 Description
* 2 History and names
* 3 Cultivation
* 4 References

## Description

It is perennial, attaining 29–50 cm (11–20 in) in height, becoming dormant during winter. It produces half-a-dozen fleshy leaves which die after flowering - the leaves being some 15–30 cm (5.9–11.8 in) in length and 0.5 to 1.5 cm in width, lanceolate, smooth and soft-textured. The flowers are in a compact raceme of 30-50 or in a loose corymb of 5-20 flowers. The flowers are bowl-shaped with green bracts of approximate pedicel length. Flowers are white to creamy-white, with brown or green centres fading with age. They are seen from October to February, and are phototropic (turning towards the sun). The spindle-shaped capsular fruit holds black, shiny seeds of diverse shapes.

## History and names

The plant was first named under the Linnaean System by the Dutch-born botanist Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1776, shortly after the plant was introduced into Dutch gardens.[4] It has been cultivated in temperate Europe ever since.

The Latin specific epithet thyrsoides refers to a specific type of inflorescence, the thyrse \- and ultimately to a type of ancient Greek staff or wand, the thyrsus.[5]

The common name chincherinchee is a translation of the Afrikaans name for this species, tjienkerientjee, which refers to the sound made by stalks rubbed together,[4]

## Cultivation

O. thyrsoides has received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[6][7] It is grown in a sunny or partially shaded sheltered spot. The plant becomes dormant shortly after flowering in spring and early summer. The dormant bulb must not be exposed to freezing temperatures.

*   *

## References

1. ↑ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-283494. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
2. ↑ Thyrsoides: with a flowering spike like a Bacchic thyrsus.
3. ↑ {{citation | mode = cs1 | title = Ornithogalum thyrsoides | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = May 6, 2008 }}
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Ornithogalum thyrsoides". South African National Biodiversity Institute. http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/ornithogthyr.htm. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
5. ↑ Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for Gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 184533731X.
6. ↑ "RHS Plantfinder - Ornithogalum thyrsoides". https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/11960/i-Ornithogalum-thyrsoides-i/Details. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
7. ↑ "AGM Plants - Ornamental". Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 64. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf. Retrieved 14 April 2018.

Wikidata ☰ Q1308104 entry

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