Ornithogalum thyrsoides
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Ornithogalum thyrsoides[1] is a bulbous plant species that is endemic to the Cape Province in South Africa. It is also known by the common names of chinkerinchee or chincherinchee, star-of-Bethlehem or wonder-flower.[2] It produces long-lasting flowers prized as cut flowers.[3]
Description
It is perennial, attaining Script error: No such module "convert". in height, becoming dormant during winter. It produces half-a-dozen fleshy leaves which die after flowering - the leaves being some Script error: No such module "convert". in length and 0.5 to 1.5 cm in width, lanceolate, smooth and soft-textured. The flowers are in a compact raceme of 30-50 or in a loose corymb of 5-20 flowers. The flowers are bowl-shaped with green bracts of approximate pedicel length. Flowers are white to creamy-white, with brown or green centres fading with age. They are seen from October to February, and are phototropic (turning towards the sun). The spindle-shaped capsular fruit holds black, shiny seeds of diverse shapes.
History and names
The plant was first named under the Linnaean System by the Dutch-born botanist Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1776, shortly after the plant was introduced into Dutch gardens.[3] It has been cultivated in temperate Europe ever since.
The Latin specific epithet thyrsoides refers to a specific type of inflorescence, the thyrse - and ultimately to a type of ancient Greek staff or wand, the thyrsus.[4]
The common name chincherinchee is a translation of the Afrikaans name for this species, tjienkerientjee, which refers to the sound made by stalks rubbed together,[3]
Cultivation
O. thyrsoides has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5][6] It is grown in a sunny or partially shaded sheltered spot. The plant becomes dormant shortly after flowering in spring and early summer. The dormant bulb must not be exposed to freezing temperatures.
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References
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