Alophia is a small genus of perennial, herbaceous and bulbous plants in the family Iridaceae. The genus comprise five known species that occur from the South-central United States as well as in Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant FamiliesBiota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map
The genus is closely related to Herbertia, Cypella and Tigridia, differentiating from them by some characters of the stamen and the gynoecium. The genus name is derived from the Greek words a-, meaning "without", and lophos, meaning "crest".Peter Goldblatt & Thad M. Howard. Notes on Alophia (Iridaceae) and a New Species, A. veracruzana, from Vera Cruz, Mexico. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Vol. 79, No. 4 (1992), pp. 901-905Peter Goldblatt. 1975. Revision of the bulbous Iridaceae of North America. Brittonia 27: 373- 385.
SpeciesRoyal Botanical Gardens, Kew. World Checklist of Monocotyledons: Alophia. Accessed April 16, 2009. Alophia drummondii (Graham) R.C.Foster, Contr. Gray Herb. 155: 34 (1945). South-central United States to Mexico, Guyana and Bolivia Alophia intermedia (Ravenna) Goldblatt, Brittonia 27: 384 (1975 publ. 1976). NW Mexico. (Sinaloa). Alophia medusa (Baker) Goldblatt, Brittonia 27: 384 (1975 publ. 1976). Brazil (Goiás) Alophia silvestris (Loes.) Goldblatt, Brittonia 27: 384 (1975 publ. 1976). Southern Mexico to Costa Rica Alophia veracruzana Goldblatt & T.M.Howard, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 79: 903 (1992). Mexico (Veracruz)
References
External links Images of Alophia in Pacificbulbsociety