Libertia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Iridaceae
Subfamilia: Iridoideae
Tribus: Sisyrinchieae
Genus: Libertia
Overview of species (16)

L. chilensis – L. colombiana – L. cranwelliae – L. edgariae – L. falcata – L. flaccidifolia – L. grandiflora – L. insignis – L. ixioides – L. mooreae – L. paniculata – L. peregrinans – L. pulchella – L. sessiliflora – L. tricocca – L. umbellata
Source(s) of checklist:
Checklist based uncritically on The Plant List

Check (4): L. boliviana – L. elegans – L. formosa – L. micrantha
Name

Libertia Sprengel, 1824

Type species: Libertia ixioides (G.Forst.) Sprengel

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Asia-Temperate
China
China Southeast.
Australasia
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria.
New Zealand
Chatham Islands, New Zealand North, New Zealand South.
Western South America
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru.
Southern South America
Argentina South, Chile Central, Chile South, Juan Fernández Islands.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Syst. Veg. 16th edn 1:127 (1824)

Additional references

Blanchon, D.J.; Braggins, J.E. 2009: Styloid crystals in the genus Libertia (Iridaceae) New Zealand journal of botany, 47(1): 39–42. DOI: 10.1080/00288250909509791 Open access. Reference page.
Blanchon, D.J.; Murray, B.G.; Braggins, J.E. 2000: Chromosome numbers in the genus Libertia (Iridaceae) New Zealand journal of botany, 38(2): 245–250. DOI: 10.1080/0028825X.2000.9512681 Open access. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Libertia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 April 10. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Libertia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 April 10. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Libertia. Published online. Accessed: 10 April 2019.
The Plant List 2013. Libertia in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 April 10.
Tropicos.org 2019. Libertia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 April 10.

Vernacular names

English: Libertia

Libertia is a genus of monocotyledonous plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1824.[2] It is native to South America, Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand. Seven species are endemic to New Zealand.[1][3][4]

Libertia is made up of herbaceous or evergreen perennials growing from short rhizomes,[2] with simple, linear or narrowly lanceolate basal leaves which are often green but may be red, orange, or yellow under direct sunlight.[5] The showy white or blue trimerous flowers are open in spring and are followed by capsules opening by three valves which contain the numerous seeds.[6]

The genus was named after the Belgian botanist Marie-Anne Libert[7] (1782–1865) (also referred to as Anne-Marie Libert).[8]

The species Libertia chilensis has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[9][10]

Species[1]

Libertia chilensis (Molina) Gunckel - central + southern Chile, southern Argentina, Juan Fernández Islands
Libertia colombiana R.C.Foster - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia
Libertia cranwelliae Blanchon, B.G.Murray & Braggins - North Island of New Zealand[3]
Libertia edgariae Blanchon, B.G.Murray & Braggins - North Island of New Zealand[3]
Libertia falcata Ravenna - Los Lagos region of Chile
Libertia flaccidifolia Blanchon & J.S.Weaver - North Island of New Zealand
Libertia grandiflora (R.Br.) Sweet - North + South Islands of New Zealand
Libertia insignis Ravenna - Los Lagos region of Chile
Libertia ixioides (G.Forst.) Spreng. - North + South Islands of New Zealand
Libertia mooreae Blanchon, B.G.Murray & Braggins - North + South Islands of New Zealand[3]
Libertia paniculata (R.Br.) Spreng. - eastern Australia[11] - Branching Grass Flag
Libertia peregrinans Cockayne & Allan - North + South + Chatham Islands of New Zealand
Libertia pulchella (R.Br.) Spreng. - New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, North + South Islands of New Zealand, New Guinea[4][12]
Libertia sessiliflora (Poepp.) Skottsb. - central Chile
Libertia tricocca Phil. - central + southern Chile
Libertia umbellata Ravenna - Los Lagos region of Chile

Selected formerly included[1]

Numerous names have been coined using the name Libertia, referring to species that are now regarded as better suited to other genera (Bromus Cardiocrinum Hosta Orthrosanthus).

Libertia arduennensis - Bromus bromoideus
Libertia arundinacea - Bromus bromoideus
Libertia azurea - Orthrosanthus multiflorus
Libertia cernua - Hosta plantaginea
Libertia graminea - Orthrosanthus laxus var. gramineus
Libertia heteroclita - Cardiocrinum cordatum
Libertia laxa - Orthrosanthus laxus
Libertia recta - Hosta ventricosa
Libertia stricta - Orthrosanthus multiflorus

Cytology

Libertia has a high rate of polyploidy, with 9/11 of assessed species confirmed as polyploid and only 2 confirmed as diploid.[3] This is not unprecedented, with polyploidy being a common feature in the tribe Sisyrinchieae.[13] The uniform base number of x=19[13] is, however, defining within the tribe. This base number is not found elsewhere in the tribe and only Diplarrhena and Solenomelus have uniform base numbers intragenerically.[13]

All New Zealand endemic species of Libertia are hexaploid or dodecaploid,[14][15][16][17][3] while these levels of ploidy have not been found outside New Zealand. Polyploidy is more prevalent in New Zealand species across all botanical taxa[18][19] and this has been attributed as a relic of glacial refugia during glacial maximums.[20]
Distribution Species Ploidy Level Chromosomal Count
Contention
References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Sprengel, Curt Polycarp Joachim 1824. Systema Vegetabilium, editio decima sexta 1: 127 in Latin
Blanchon, D.J.; et al. (2002). "A taxonomic revision of Libertia (Iridaceae) in New Zealand" New Zealand Journal of Botany. 40 (3): 437–456. doi:10.1080/0028825x.2002.9512805. S2CID 83634447.
"Census of vascular plants of Papua New Guinea". Retrieved 2010-01-01.
"Stephen Butler | IGPS Blog". igpsblogs.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
Goldblatt; Henrich; Keating, Peter; James; Richard (1989). "Seed morphology of Sisyrinchium (Iridaceae-Sisyrinchieae) and its allies". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 76 (4): 1109–1117. doi:10.2307/2399695. JSTOR 2399695.
Quattrocchi, Umberto (2006). CRC World Dictionary of Grasses, Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. 1. Taylor and Francis. p. 124. ISBN 9781420003222.
Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 215–16. ISBN 978-0-88192-897-6.
"RHS Plantfinder - Libertia chilensis". Retrieved 22 March 2018.
"AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 60. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
"Libertia paniculata". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
"Libertia pulchella". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
Goldblatt; Takei, P.; M. (1997). "Chromosome cytology of Iridaceae-patterns of variation, determination of ancestral base numbers, and modes of karyotype change". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 85 (2): 285–304. doi:10.2307/2400005. JSTOR 2400005.
Blanchon; Weaver, D.J.; J.S. (2009). "Libertia flaccidifolia (Iridaceae), a new species from Mt. Tamahunga, Northland, New Zealand" New Zealand Journal of Botany. 47 (3): 317–324. doi:10.1080/00288250909509812. S2CID 86060799.
Blanchon, D.J. (2000). "Chromosome numbers in the genus Libertia" New Zealand Journal of Botany. 38 (2): 245–250. doi:10.1080/0028825x.2000.9512681.
Hair; Beuzenberg; Pearson, J.B.; E.J.; B. (1967). "Contributions to a chromosome atlas of the New Zealand flora - 9. Miscellaneous families" New Zealand Journal of Botany. 5: 185–196. doi:10.1080/0028825x.1967.10428739.
Moore, L.B. (1967). "The New Zealand species of Libertia (Iridaceae)" New Zealand Journal of Botany. 5 (2): 255–275. doi:10.1080/0028825x.1967.10428745.
Rendle; Murray, H.; B.G. (1989). "Chromosome relationships and breeding barriers in New Zealand species of Ranunculus" New Zealand Journal of Botany. 27 (3): 437–444. doi:10.1080/0028825x.1989.10414124.
Murray; Cameron; Standring, B.G.; E.K.; L.S. (1992). "Chromosome numbers, karyotypes, and nuclear DNA variation in Pratia Gaudin (Lobeliaceae)" New Zealand Journal of Botany. 30 (2): 181–187. doi:10.1080/0028825x.1992.10412897.
McQueen, D.R. (1992). "Disjunction of tree species in mountain forests, southern North Island, New Zealand: a review of paleobotanical evidence". Pacific Science. 46 (2): 269–275.
Sanders; Stuessy; Rodriguez, R.W.; T.F.; R. (1983). "Chromosome numbers from the flora of the Juan Fernandez Islands". American Journal of Botany. 70 (6): 799–810. doi:10.2307/2442929. JSTOR 2442929.
Kenton; Heywood, A.; C.A. (1984). "Cytological studies in South American Iridaceae". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 146 (1–2): 87–104. doi:10.1007/bf00984056. S2CID 39542853.