Lachenalia flava
Species of flowering plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lachenalia flava, the golden opal flower, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Lachenalia native to the southwest Cape Provinces of South Africa.[2] It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[3]
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| Lachenalia flava | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Subfamily: | Scilloideae |
| Genus: | Lachenalia |
| Species: | L. flava |
| Binomial name | |
| Lachenalia flava | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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List
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Description
Lachenalia flava is a bulbous plant with:
- Bulb: Rounded, 15–20 mm in diameter, produces offsets.
- Leaves: Two, lance-shaped, 85–150 mm long, 12–30 mm wide, fleshy, light green, sometimes blotched with dark green or maroon.
- Flower stalk (scape): Upright, 10–20 cm tall, fleshy, purple or green with purple blotches, bearing few to many flowers.
- Flowers: Tubular, mostly pendulous, golden orange outer tepals (13–18 mm), bright yellow inner tepals (26–28 mm) with spreading tips and small swellings; stamens and style initially enclosed, style later protrudes.[4]
Conservation and habitat
Lachenalia flava is endemic to the Western Cape of South Africa, where it occurs on rocky sandstone and shale slopes within fynbos and renosterveld vegetation.[5] The species is adapted to fire-prone habitats, with mass flowering stimulated by burning, although it is not strictly dependent on fire for regeneration.[5] Pollination is primarily by sunbirds, and its relatively large seeds are dispersed by wind after being shaken from the capsules.[5]
Historically, the species was recorded from Paarl Mountain and Wellington to the upper Breede River Valley near Tulbagh, but it has become locally extinct at some sites, including Paarl Mountain.[5] It now survives in only two main subpopulations: in Bain's Kloof (Hawequas Mountains) and between Tulbagh and Wolseley.[5] Habitat loss due to urban expansion and agriculture in the Breede River Valley, as well as competition from invasive alien plants, are the principal threats to its persistence.[5]
The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) has assessed Lachenalia flava as Vulnerable (VU D2) under IUCN criteria, owing to its restricted distribution and ongoing decline in habitat quality.[5] The species has also been recorded as a garden escape in Australia,[6] but introduced populations are not considered in conservation assessments, which focus on the native South African range.