Simethis

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

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

Familia: Asphodelaceae
Subfamilia: Hemerocallidoideae
Genus: Simethis
Species: S. mattiazzii
Name

Simethis Kunth, Enum. Pl. 4: 618 (1843), nom. cons..

Type species: Simethis bicolor Kunth, nom. illeg. superfl. = Simethis mattiazzii (Vand.) Sacc.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Northern Europe
Ireland.
Regional: Southwestern Europe
Corse, France, Portugal, Sardegna, Spain.
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Italy.
Continental: Africa
Regional: Northern Africa
Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia.

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

Kunth, C.S. 1843. Enumeratio plantarum omnium hucusque cognitarum, secundum familias naturales disposita, adjectis characteribus, differentiis et synonymis. Tomus quartus. Enumeratio Xyridearum, Mayacearum, Commelynearum, Pontederiacearum, Melanthacearum, Uvulariearum, Liliacearum et Asphodelearum ... 752 pp. Sumtibus J. G. Cottae, Stutgardiae [Stuttgart] et Tubingae [Tübingen]. BHL Reference page.

Links

Hassler, M. 2020. Simethis. 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. 2020. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Sept. 25. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Simethis. Published online. Accessed: Sept. 25 2020.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Simethis in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Sept. 25. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2020. Simethis. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 25 Sept. 2020.

Simethis is a genus of plants in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae.[2] It contains only one known species, Simethis mattiazzii, commonly called the Kerry lily.[1][3]

It grows in dry places especially near the coast in Western Europe (Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy) and northern Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia). Its common name is based on its occurrence at a few sites in County Kerry, Ireland.[1]

Description

The Kerry lily is a perennial plant reaching a maximum height of 25 cm (10 in). It has a vertical rhizome and fleshy roots. The leaves grow from the base of the plant and are up to 30 cm (12 in) long; they are narrow, linear and grass-like, and sometimes curl. The inflorescence is a sparsely-branched, erect, wiry stem bearing a few small leaves and a loose spike of three to ten flowers with six tepals. The flowers are 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter, purple-grey in bud and gleaming white when they open. The six stamens have fuzzy white filaments tipped by yellow anthers. The fruit is a three-lobed capsule. The Kerry lily flowers in May and June.[4][5]
Distribution and habitat

The Kerry lily has a scattered, mainly maritime, distribution in Western Europe and North Africa. The only place in the British Isles where it is found is in County Kerry in southwestern Ireland, where it is restricted to a 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) area around Derrynane.[6] It occurs in western France, the Pyrenees, the Atlantic coastal strip of northern and western Spain and Portugal, the Mediterranean coastal strip of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and isolated sites in western Italy, Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. In different parts of its range it inhabits grassland and heathland habitats, maquis, shrubland and cork-oak woodland. It is common in the Atlantic belt of Europe but rare in many of the other scattered locations in which it grows.[5]

This plant has a relictual distribution, with southwestern Ireland being its most northerly occurrence. It was recorded from Dorset in southern England, but seems to now be extinct there. It is more common in Brittany and the Loire Valley, and the northern flanks of the Pyrenees but much rarer further inland. It is also common in the coastal strip of the Iberian Peninsula, and was discovered growing on the island of Marettimo, Sicily, for the first time in 2012. The population in North Africa is very fragmentary.[5]
References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, wcsp.science.kew.org
Stevens, P. F., Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Hemerocalloideae
Altervista Flora Italiana, Lilioasfodelo di Mattiazzi, Xanthorrhoeaceae: Simethis mattiazzi (Vandelli) Sacc.
"Kerry lily". Wildflowers of Ireland. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
Gianguzzi, Lorenzo; Cusimano, Dario; Bonventre, Vito; Romano, Salvatore; Ilardi, Vincenzo (2012). "Bio-ecological, phytosociological and conservation aspects of relictual and disjointed populations of Simethis mattiazzi (Vandelli) Sacc. (Xanthorrhoeaceae) in the Channel of Sicily". Acta Botanica Gallica. 159 (3): 303–318. doi:10.1080/12538078.2012.737141.
Hickey, Donal (31 August 2009). "Kerry, a haven for many rare species". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 8 March 2020.