Nerine

Nerine (nerines, Guernsey lily, Jersey lily, spider lily) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. They are bulbous perennials, some evergreen, associated with rocky and arid habitats. They bear spherical umbels of lily-like flowers in shades from white through pink to crimson. In the case of deciduous species, the flowers may appear on naked stems before the leaves develop. Native to South Africa, there are about 20–30 species in the genus. Though described as lilies, they are not significantly related to the true lilies (Liliaceae), but more closely resemble their relatives, Amaryllis and Lycoris. The genus was established by the Revd. William Herbert in 1820¹. Nerines have been widely cultivated and much hybridized worldwide, especially Nerine bowdenii, N. masoniorum, N. sarniensis and N. undulata (previously known as N. flexuosa). The hybrid cultivar 'Zeal Giant' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Most of the other 20 species are rarely cultivated and very little is known regarding their biology. Many species are threatened with extinction due to the loss or degradation of their habitat.

Nerine (nerines, Guernsey lily, Jersey lily, spider lily) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. They are bulbous perennials, some evergreen, associated with rocky and arid habitats. They bear spherical umbels of lily-like flowers in shades from white through pink to crimson. In the case of deciduous species, the flowers may appear on naked stems before the leaves develop. Native to South Africa, there are about 20–30 species in the genus. Though described as lilies, they are not significantly related to the true lilies (Liliaceae), but more closely resemble their relatives, Amaryllis and Lycoris. The genus was established by the Revd. William Herbert in 1820. Nerines have been widely cultivated and much hybridized worldwide, especially Nerine bowdenii, N. masoniorum, N. sarniensis and N. undulata (previously known as N. flexuosa). The hybrid cultivar 'Zeal Giant' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Most of the other 20 species are rarely cultivated and very little is known regarding their biology. Many species are threatened with extinction due to the loss or degradation of their habitat. Chromosome number: 11 (2n=22), but rarely 2n=24 or triploids. ==Taxonomy== ===History=== The first description was published in 1635¹ by French botanist Jacques-Philippe Cornut, who examined 'Narcissus Iaponicus rutilo flore' (N. sarniensis), a plant he found in the garden of the Paris nurseryman Jean Morin in October 1634, assuming it was originally from Japan. In 1680 Scottish botanist Robert Morison gave an account of 'Lilio-Narcissus Japonicus rutilo flore' that was said to have been washed ashore when a Dutch or English vessel coming from Japan was wrecked off Guernsey. In 1725 James Douglas published an account in his A Description of the Guernsay Lilly, as it was known then. Douglas gave it the name Lilio-Narcissus Sarniensis Autumno florens. Linnaeus called this Amaryllis sarniensis in 1753, after Douglas' usage, one of nine species he assigned to this genus. The earliest published name for the genus was Imhofia, given by Lorenz Heister in 1755¹. The later name Nerine, published by William Herbert in 1820, was widely used, resulting in a decision to conserve the name Nerine and reject the name Imhofia (nom. rej.). Herbert was unaware of Heister's work initially in 1820, but noting that Heister had not defined it and it had not been adopted, transferred the name to Amaryllis marginata, retaining Nerine for N. sarniensis and renaming A. marginata Imhofia marginata (now Brunsvigia marginata). Herbert's main role was in untangling a number of distinct genera that Linnaeus had included under Amaryllis. Although in Herbert's description of Nerine rosea there, he attempted to distinguish it from N. sarniensis, the former is now accepted as a synonym of the latter, the accepted name. When Herbert chose the name of these nymphs for the first species of the genus, Nerine sarniensis, he alluded to the story of how this South African species arrived on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel. It is said that a ship carrying boxes of the bulbs of this species destined for the Netherlands was shipwrecked on Guernsey. The boxes of bulbs were washed up on the island and the bulbs became established and multiplied around the coast. Herbert eventually recognised nine species. At that time Amaryllis (and hence Nerine) were placed in the family Amaryllideae, following the classification of de Candolle (1813). Herbert's main interests were in the taxonomy of amaryllids, publishing a monograph on this in 1837, considering Amaryllideae as one of seven suborders of Amaryllidaceae. He then further subdivided this suborder into groups, placing Nerine and Amaryllis together with twelve other genera into the Amaryllidiformes. In his extensive treatment of Nerine he divided the nine species he recognised into two sections, Regulares and Distortae, of which only N. humilis and N. undulata are still in use. He had also begun a breeding program and described seven hybrids he had raised. His enthusiasm for the genus is evident in that he chose to illustrate the front of the book with one of his hybrids, N. mitchamiae (see illustration). New species continued to be described so that by the time Traub published his monograph in 1967¹, he identified 30 species. Other authors, including Norris (1974) and Duncan (2002), have identified 31 and 25 species respectively. At one stage 53 species were described. Snijman and Linder (1996), who used a cladistic analysis of 33 characteristics and chromosome number, reduced this to 23, assigning many of these species to varietal status. They considered Nerine to be characterised by zygomorphic flowers with attenuated tepals and crisped margins. Nerine × excellens T.Moore = N. humilis × N. undulata, an artificial cross Nerine × mansellii O'Brien ex Baker = N. undulata × N. sarniensis, an artificial cross Nerine × stricklandii auct. = N. pudica × N. sarniensis, an artificial cross Nerine × traubianthe Moldenke = N. filifolia × N. 'Rosalba', an artificial cross Nerine × versicolor Herb. = N. sarniensis × N. undulata – Cape Province Some Nerine species have been used to produce a hybrid with members of the genus Amaryllis, which are included in the hybrid genus (nothogenus) × Amarine. One of these hybrids is × Amarine tubergenii Sealy , which comes from a cross between Amaryllis belladonna and Nerine bowdenii. == Distribution and habitat== Nerine are native to Southern Africa, their distribution range being from the Cape Peninsula in the south to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia to the northwest and northeast of South Africa, occupying all nine provinces of South Africa. (see distribution maps in Zonneveld & Duncan, 2006). They prefer rocky, arid and mesic habitats, and most species are found in the summer rainfall region. === Historical sources=== see also Species Plantarum Flora of Zimbabwe

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