Ipheion uniflorum

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox |taxon = Ipheion uniflorum |image = Ipheion uniflorum1.jpg |authority = (Raf.) Traub |synonyms = *''Triteleia uniflora'' Lindl. *''Brodiaea uniflora'' (Lindl.) Engl. *''Tristagma uniflorum'' (Lindl.) Traub *''Milla uniflora'' (Lindl.) Graham }}

'''''Ipheion uniflorum''''' is a species of flowering plant, related to the onions, placed in the allium subfamily (Allioideae) of the Amaryllidaceae.<ref>{{Citation |last=Stevens |first=Peter F. |year=2001–2010 |work=Angiosperm Phylogeny Website, Version 10 |title=Amaryllidaceae |url=http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/orders/asparagalesweb.htm#Amaryllidaceae |access-date=2010-11-30 }}</ref> It is known by the common name '''springstar''',<ref>{{PLANTS|id=TRUN6|taxon=Tristagma uniflorum|accessdate=15 December 2015}}</ref> or '''spring starflower'''. Along with all species of the genus ''Ipheion'', some sources place it in the genus ''Tristagma'',<ref name="WCSP">{{Citation |contribution=Ipheion|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=279339 |access-date=2012-12-17}}</ref> but research published in 2010 suggested that this is incorrect.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Souza |first1=L.G.R |last2=Crosa |first2=O. |last3=Guerra |first3=M. |year=2010 |title=Karyological circumscription of ''Ipheion'' Rafinesque (Gilliesioideae, Alliaceae) |journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution |volume=287 |issue=3–4 |pages=119–27 |name-list-style=amp |doi=10.1007/s00606-010-0304-3|bibcode=2010PSyEv.287..119S |s2cid=21914243 }}</ref> It is native to Argentina and Uruguay, but is widely cultivated as an ornamental and reportedly naturalized in Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand <ref>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=290463 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, as ''Tristagma uniflorum'' ]</ref> and the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Discover Life I. uniflorum Distribution Map|url=https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20m?kind=Tristagma+uniflorum|website=Discover Life}}</ref>

==Description== This is a small herbaceous perennial growing from a bulb and producing flat, shiny, green, hairless, grasslike leaves up to {{convert|30|cm|0|abbr=on}} long. The foliage has an onion-like scent when crushed. The stem grows up to {{convert|20|cm|0|abbr=on}} tall and bears a solitary showy flower in spring (hence the Latin name ''uniflorum'' - "single flower"). Each honey-scented, star-shaped flower has six pointed lobes, up to 3 centimeters long, in shades ranging from very pale to deep purple-blue.

==Cultivation== ''Ipheion uniflorum'' has been grown in the UK since 1820, when bulbs collected near Buenos Aires arrived in the country. It is recommended for growing in a well-drained position outside or as a long-flowering pot plant in an unheated greenhouse. Various named forms are in cultivation, some of which may be hybrids. 'Wisley Blue' is a clear lilac blue; 'Froyle Mill' is a deeper violet blue; 'Album' is white. The cultivar 'Alberto Castillo', also white, has larger flowers and was collected in the 1980s by Alberto Castillo, the owner of Ezeiza Botanical Garden, from an abandoned garden in Buenos Aires.<ref>{{Citation |year=1993 |editor-last=Beckett |editor-first=K. |title=Encyclopedia of Alpines, Vol. 1 |location=Pershore, UK |publisher=AGS Publications |isbn=978-0-900048-61-6 }}, p.675</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Rolfe |first=R. |year=2001 |title=Plant Awards 2000-2001 |journal=Bulletin of the Alpine Garden Society |volume=69 |pages=482–550 }}, p.488</ref> In the United States, the species is stated to be hardy to USDA Zone 5 and is recommended for massing in borders, alpine gardens and other areas, or for naturalizing in lawns.<ref>{{Citation |last=Kemper Center for Home Gardening |title=Ipheion uniflorum |url=http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=Q760#lbl_culture |access-date=2010-12-01 |archive-date=2010-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809174327/http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=Q760#lbl_culture |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 63 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 13 March 2018}}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=12em}} *’Alberto Castillo’<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/89996/i-Ipheion-i-Alberto-Castillo/Details | title = RHS Plantfinder - ''Ipheion'' 'Alberto Castillo' | access-date = 13 March 2018}}</ref> *'Froyle Mill'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Ipheion uniflorum'' 'Froyle Mill'|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/94582/Ipheion-uniflorum-Froyle-Mill/Details|publisher=Royal Horticultural Society|access-date=2020-09-16}}</ref> *'Rolf Fiedler'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Ipheion uniflorum'' 'Rolf Fiedler'|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/91798/Ipheion-Rolf-Fiedler/Details|publisher=Royal Horticultural Society|access-date=2020-09-16}}</ref> *'Wisley Blue'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Ipheion uniflorum'' 'Wisley Blue'|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/96528/Ipheion-uniflorum-Wisley-Blue/Details|publisher=Royal Horticultural Society|access-date=2020-09-16}}</ref> {{div col end}}

==Media== <gallery> File:Tristagma-uniflorum-2008-05-04_at_18-21-01.jpg File: Vårlilja (Ipheion uniflorum).jpg File:Ipheion uniflorum Alberto Castillo.jpg|'Alberto Castillo' File:Tristagma uniflorum Rolf Feidler closeup.jpg|Closeup of 'Rolf Fiedler' </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} *[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?8349,8588,8589 Jepson Manual Treatment] *{{ITIS |id=565582 |taxon=''Tristagma uniflorum''}}

Category:Allioideae Category:Flora of Argentina Category:Flora of Uruguay Category:Flora of Australia Category:Flora of New Zealand Category:Flora of France Category:Flora of Great Britain Category:Plants described in 1830 Category:Garden plants of South America