Dionysia (plant)

Genus of flowering plants

Dionysia

Dionysia involucrata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Plantae
Clade:  | Tracheophytes
Clade:  | Angiosperms
Clade:  | Eudicots
Clade:  | Asterids
Order:  | Ericales
Family:  | Primulaceae
Subfamily:  | Primuloideae
Genus:  | Dionysia
Fenzl
Type species
Dionysia odora

Distribution map with Iran in the center.
Synonyms

Macrosyphonia Duby 1844

Some species of Dionysia at Gothenburg Botanical Garden.

Dionysia is a genus containing 61 species of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. They are small, cushion-forming alpines native to mountains of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, sauth Turkmenistan, northwestern Pakistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and parts of Oman. They are usually evergreen perennials with felted leaves, covered with bright yellow or pink, five-petalled flowers in spring.[1] They are often difficult to cultivate if the correct conditions are not provided.[2]

Most species of Dionysia are cushion plants that grow in dry mountain environments, but some species are taller and prefer moist environments.[3] In many species, the leaves are covered with an aromatic wax. The leaves are very drought resistant in some species and are reinforced with stone cells (sclerids) either around the nerves or freely in the leaf tissue. These species blooms profusely in early spring with yellow, purple, violet or pink flowers, often being completely covered by the flowers. The range of most Dionysia species is small and confined to one ridge, mountain or its slope. The disappearance of species from their habitats is associated with the construction of roads, as well as with the collection of plants by collectors for planting in alpine slides and The number of species also decreases due to grazing.[4][5][6]

## Species

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Species include:[7]

Image | Scientific name | Distribution

|
|

| Dionysia afghanica Grey-Wilson |
| Dionysia archibaldii Wendelbo |
| Dionysia aretioides (Lehm.) Boiss. |
| Dionysia assadii Borjian |
| Dionysia aubrietioides Jamzad & Mozaff. |
| Dionysia avia Mehregan, Younesi & Lidén |
| Dionysia bachtiarica Bornm. & Alex. |
| Dionysia balsamea Wendelbo & Rech.f. |
| Dionysia bazoftica Jamzad |
| Dionysia bornmuelleri (Pax) Clay |
| Dionysia bryoides Boiss. |
| Dionysia cespitosa (Duby) Boiss. |
| Dionysia cristagalli Lidén |
| Dionysia curviflora Bunge |
| Dionysia denticulata Wendelbo |
| Dionysia diapensiifolia Boiss. |
| Dionysia esfandiarii Wendelbo |
| Dionysia freitagii Wendelbo |
| Dionysia gandzhinae Kamelin |
| Dionysia gaubae Bornm. |
| Dionysia haussknechtii Bornm. & Strauss |
| Dionysia hedgei Wendelbo |
| Dionysia hissarica Lipsky |
| Dionysia involucrata Zapriag. |
| Dionysia iranica Jamzad |
| Dionysia iranshahrii Wendelbo |
| Dionysia jamzadiae Lidén, M.Irvine, Alvén & Mehregan |
| Dionysia janthina Bornm. |
| Dionysia khatamii Mozaff. |
| Dionysia khuzistanica Jamzad |
| Dionysia kossinskyi Czerniak. |
| Dionysia × kowsariana Zeraatkar & Khajoei |
| Dionysia lacei (Hemsl. & G.Watt) Clay |
| Dionysia lamingtonii Stapf |
| Dionysia leucotricha Bornm. |
| Dionysia lindbergii Wendelbo |
| Dionysia lurorum Wendelbo |
| Dionysia michauxii (Duby) Boiss. |
| Dionysia microphylla Wendelbo |
| Dionysia mira (Jaub. & Spach) Wendelbo |
| Dionysia mozaffarianii Lidén |
| Dionysia odora Fenzl |
| Dionysia oreodoxa Bornm. |
| Dionysia paradoxa Wendelbo |
| Dionysia revoluta Boiss. |
| Dionysia rhaptodes Bunge |
| Dionysia robusta Younesi |
| Dionysia saponacea Wendelbo & Rech.f. |
| Dionysia sarvestanica Jamzad & Grey-Wilson |
| Dionysia splendens Alipour, Mehregan & Lidén |
| Dionysia tacamahaca Lidén |
| Dionysia tapetodes Bunge |
| Dionysia termeana Wendelbo |
| Dionysia teucrioides P.H.Davis & Wendelbo |
| Dionysia viscidula Wendelbo |
| Dionysia viva Lidén & Zetterl. |
| Dionysia wendelboi Podlech |
| Dionysia zagrica Grey-Wilson |
| Dionysia zetterlundii Lidén |
| Dionysia zeynepiae Güzel |
| Dionysia zschummelii Lidén |

Dionysia aretioides, with yellow flowers, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[8][9]

## References

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1. ^ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136\. ISBN 978-1405332965.
2. ^ "Dionysia - flowering cushions in the Alpine House | Kew Blogs". Archived from the original on 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
3. ^ Grey-Wilson, Christopher (1989). The genus Dionysia. Alpine Garden Society. Kew: Alpine Garden Society. ISBN 978-0-900048-51-7.
4. ^ TRIFT, I.; ANDERBERG, A. A. (2006-08-04). "FOLIAR SCLEREIDS IN DIONYSIA (PRIMULACEAE) FROM A PHYLOGENETIC PERSPECTIVE". Edinburgh Journal of Botany. 63 (1): 21–48\. doi:10.1017/s096042860600045x. ISSN 1474-0036.
5. ^ Lidén, Magnus (2007-08-31). "The genus Dionysia (Primulaceae), a synopsis and five new species". Willdenowia. 37 (1): 37. doi:10.3372/wi.37.37102. ISSN 0511-9618.
6. ^ "Dionysia — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
7. ^ "Dionysia Fenzl". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
8. ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Dionysia aretioides". Retrieved 27 May 2020.
9. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 29. Retrieved 6 February 2018.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dionysia.

* The genus Dionysia

Taxon identifiers

Dionysia|

* Wikidata: Q145760
* Wikispecies: Dionysia
* CoL: 45XT
* EoL: 2885952
* GBIF: 3234266
* GRIN: 3755
* IPNI: 32780-1
* IRMNG: 1310545
* NCBI: 175032
* Open Tree of Life: 110094
* POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:32780-1
* Tropicos: 40031828
* WFO: wfo-4000011836