Omphalissa


Omphalissa is an unaccepted subgenus of genus Hippeastrum, within the family Amaryllidaceae. Originally described by Richard Anthony Salisbury in 1866.

Description

Robust habit, two to four large flowers. Perianth with a short tube, paraperigonium curved closing the throat by a distinct neck. Stigma trifid or capitate, lobes > 2 mm. Spathe slit to the base. Ribbon-like leaves, 2.5 to 5 cm broad. Many dry, flat seeds.

Taxonomy

Salisbury originally described the Omphalissa as a subgroup of the Zephyrantheae, then a tribe within the Amaryllidaceae, in which he included Amaryllis ''aulica and A. calyptrata. This was subsequently more formally defined by John Gilbert Baker in 1888, as a subgenus of Hippeastrum with six species. Baker's six species were;Hippeastrum aulicumHippeastrum organense Hippeastrum psittacinumHippeastrum calyptratumHippeastrum cybisterHippeastrum pardinum''

Ecology

Contains the epiphytic species of Hippeastrum.