Plagiolirion is a monotypic genus in the family Amaryllidaceae endemic to Colombia. It has only one known species, Plagiolirion horsmannii, which is rare in the wild and was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in the Río Cauca Valley in 1989.Alan W. Meerow and Philip Silverstone-Sopkin. 1995. The rediscovery of Plagiolirion horsmannii Baker (Amaryllidaceae) Brittonia 47(4): 426-431
Description
Vegetative characteristics Plagiolirion horsmannii is a bulbous,The Gardeners' Chronicle: A Weekly Illustrated Journal of Horticulture and Allied Subjects. p. 105. (1883). Vereinigtes Königreich: Gardeners Chronicle. perennial herb with subglobose or ovoid, tunicate, 5–6 cm long, and 5–5.5 cm wide bulbs with fleshy roots. The bulbs have offsets at the base. Generative characteristics The scapose, umbellate inflorescences with a terete, solid, erect, glaucous green, 49–66 cm long, and 0.5 cm wide scape, bears 10–41 white,Wiener illustrirte Garten-Zeitung: Organ d. K. K. Gartenbau-Gesellschaft in Wien. p. 94. (1884). Österreich: Frick. zygomorphic, inodorous, protrandrous, pedicellate, 2.5–3 cm long, and 3–4 cm wide flowers. The thin pedicels are 1.5–2 cm long. Cytology The diploid chromosome number of Plagiolirion horsmannii is 2n = 46.Silverstone-Sopkin, P. A. (2011). Los muertos vivientes: La historia natural de cuatro lirios amazónicos del suroccidente de Colombia (Eucharis y Plagiolirion, Amaryllidaceae). pp. 24–25. Universidad del Valle.
Taxonomy The genus and species were first described by John Gilbert Baker in 1883.Baker, J. G. (1883). Plagiolirion horsmannii. Gard. Chron, 2(38), 1888. The genus is placed in the tribe Eucharideae.Plagiolirion. (n.d.). Pacific Bulb Society. Retrieved March 4, 2025, from https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Plagiolirion
Etymology The generic name Plagiolirion, from plagios meaning 'oblique' and leirion meaning 'lily',Weathers, J. (2009). The Bulb Book. p. 398. USA: Applewood Books. is derived from the floral morphology. The specific epithet horsmannii honours Fred Horsman,The Garden: An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Gardening in All Its Branches. p. 42. (1884). Vereinigtes Königreich: (n.p.). who imported the species to Colchester, United Kingdom.Weathers, J. (1890). Plagiolirion horsmannii. Gardeners’ Chronicle, p. 262.
Ecology Habitat It occurs in the Colombian Andes.
References