Romulea bulbocodium

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

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

Familia: Iridaceae
Subfamilia: Crocoideae
Tribus: Ixieae
Genus: Romulea
Species: Romulea bulbocodium
Varietates: R. b. var. bulbocodium – R. b. var. crocea – R. b. var. leichtliniana
Name

Romulea bulbocodium (L.) Sebast. & Mauri, 1818

Type species:

Synonyms

Basionym
Crocus bulbocodium L., Sp. Pl.: 36 (1753).
Homotypic
Ixia bulbocodium (L.) L., Sp. Pl. ed. 2: 51 (1762).
Trichonema bulbocodium (L.) Ker Gawl., Bot. Mag. 16: t. 575 (1802).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Europe
Southwestern Europe
Corse, France, Portugal, Sardegna, Spain.
Southeastern Europe
Albania, Bulgaria, Greece,itzerland.html">Switzerland, Italy, Kriti, Sicilia, Yugoslavia.
Africa
Northern Africa
Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia.
Asia-Temperate
Western Asia
East Aegean Islands, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Turkey.

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

Sebastiani, F.A. & Mauri, E.. 1818. Florae Romanae Prodromus exhibens centurias xii Plantarum ... 17.

Additional references

Dobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. 2010. Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du Nord. Volume 1: Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, Monocotyledoneae. Conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève, ISBN 978-2-8277-0120-9, 455 pp. PDF Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Romulea bulbocodium in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Feb 04. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2022. Romulea bulbocodium. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2022. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Feb 04. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2022. Romulea bulbocodium. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 04 Feb 2022.
International Plant Names Index. 2022. Romulea bulbocodium. Published online. Accessed: Feb 04 2022.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Romulea bulbocodium in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
беларуская: луковична пролетка
Ελληνικά: Ρωμουλέα η βολβοκώδιος galego:
Gaeilge: Aberiota
русский: Ромулея бульбокодиум

Romulea bulbocodium is one of the best-known species from the genus Romulea. The plant, a member of the family Iridaceae, is native to the Mediterranean region (southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East) and Sudan.[1][2] It has many varieties and is occasionally used as ornamental plant.

The species has a small rootstock - a corm which can be found in sandy and rocky soils. It produces long and slender leaves. The plant looks much like the popular Crocus. It is in convergent evolution with it.

The blooms are small and with six tepals. Most varieties have purple or violet blooms, but white or yellow also occur.

The ovary is 3-locular and the seeds are brown, pellet-like, circular grains.
References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Altervista Flora Italiana, Zafferanetto comune, Romulea bulbocodium (L.) Sebast. & Mauri includes photos plus European distribution map