Genus: Aristea

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Monocotyledons > Order: Asparagales > Family: Iridaceae

About 52 species, mainly southern African but the distribution of this genus extends to Senegal and Ethiopia, and there are seven species on Madagascar. Forty-six species are native to southern Africa.

Species native to southern Africa

List from Plants of Southern Africa - an Online Checklist (SANBI), Flora of Zimbabwe and Flora of Mozambique.

Aristea abyssinica
Aristea africana
Aristea anceps
Aristea angolensis
Aristea bakeri
Aristea biflora
Aristea bracteata
Aristea cantharophila
Aristea capitata
Aristea cistiflora Occurs on the lower southern slopes of the Langeberg Mountains in the Western Cape. Found in peaty sandstone soil and only flowers after fire or clearing of the vegetation.
Aristea compressa
Aristea cuspidata
Aristea dichotoma
Aristea ecklonii
Aristea elliptica Occurs in the Eastern Cape, from the Zuurberg Mountains in the west to the Fish River Mouth in the east. It is found in fynbos and grassy fynbos mainly on sandstone slopes and frequently on rocky outcrops.
Aristea ensifolia
Aristea fimbriata
Aristea flexicaulis
Aristea galpinii
Aristea gerrardii
Aristea glauca
Aristea grandis
Aristea inaequalis
Aristea juncifolia
Aristea latifolia
Aristea lugens
Aristea montana
Aristea nana Distribution extends from Robinson’s Pass in the Western Cape to Baviaanskloof in the Eastern Cape. Common in the Long Kloof and valleys to the north from Avontuur to Joubertina. It is found on sandy and rocky sandstone slopes in arid, marginal fynbos.
Aristea nigrescens
Aristea oligocephala
Aristea palustris
Aristea pauciflora
Aristea platycaulis
Aristea pusilla
Aristea racemosa
Aristea recisa
Aristea rigidifolia
Aristea rupicola
Aristea schizolaena
Aristea simplex
Aristea singularis
Aristea spiralis
Aristea teretifolia
Aristea torulosa [= Aristea woodii] See Flora of Zimbabwe (under Aristea woodii)
Aristea zeyheri

Three main types of pollination have been discerned in this genus (Goldblatt & Manning 2000):

• Most species are pollinated by bees and have flowers that open in the early morning and fade by midday or by early afternoon.
• A few species in the southwestern Cape are pollinated by monkey beetles (Hopliini) and have flowers with dark markings that last the entire day.
• Aristea spiralis produces nectar and is probably pollinated by long-proboscid flies in the genus Philoliche (Diptera: Tabanidae).

Publications

• Goldblatt, P. 1995. Notes on Aristea Aiton (Iridaceae: Nivenioideae): taxonomy, chromosome cytology, and phylogeny. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 82: 139–145.
• Goldblatt, P., Dold, A.P. and Manning, J.C. 2005. Three cryptic new species of Aristea (Iridaceae) from southern Africa. Bothalia 35(1): 1-6.
• Goldblatt, P. & Le Thomas, A. 1997. Palynology, phylogenetic reconstruction and the classification of the Afro-Madagascan genus Aristea Aiton (Iridaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 84: 263–284. 
• Goldblatt, P., Le Thomas, A. & Suarez-Cervera, M. 1996. Deux types polliniques originaux dans le genre Aristea (Iridaceae–Nivenioideae): implications phylogéniques. Grana 35: 87–96.
• Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J.C. 1997. New species of Aristea (Iridaceae) from South Africa and notes on the taxonomy and pollination biology of Section Pseudaristea. Novon 7: 137–144.
• Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J.C. 2000. Iridaceae. In: In: Seed Plants of Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 623-638. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
• Oliver, E.G.H. 1976. Aristea lugens. Flowering Plants of Africa 43: t.1708.
• Vincent, P.L.D. 1985. A partial revision of the genus Aristea (Iridaceae) in South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 51: 209–252.
• Weimarck, H. 1940. Monograph of the genus Aristea. Acta universitatis lundensis (Lunds universitets årsskrift) N.F. Avd. 2, 36(1): 1-140.