{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Olsynium_douglasii_37688.JPG |image_caption = ''Olysnium douglasii'' var. ''douglasii'' in Anacortes Community Forest Lands |display_parents = 2 |taxon = Olsynium |authority = Raf. |type_species = ''Olsynium grandiflorum'' |type_species_authority = (Douglas ex Lindley) Rafinesque |synonyms_ref = <ref name="WCSP"/> |synonyms = * ''Phaiophleps'' <small>Raf.</small> * ''Symphyostemon'' <small>Miers</small> * ''Psithyrisma'' <small>Herb.</small> * ''Chamelum'' <small>Phil.</small> * ''Ona'' <small>Ravenna</small> }}
'''''Olsynium''''' is a genus of summer-dormant rhizomatous perennial flowering plants in the iris family Iridaceae, native to sunny hillsides in South America and western North America.<ref name="WCSP"/><ref>[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Olsynium%20douglasii.png Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map]</ref><ref>Douglas, G.W., Meidinger, D. & Penny, J.L. (2002). Rare Native Vascular Plants of British Columbia, ed. 2: 1-358. Province of British Columbia.</ref>
==Description== Height is {{convert|10|-|40|cm|in|0}} tall. Leaves are linear, {{convert|4|-|30|cm|in}} long and {{convert|1|-|3|mm|in|2}} broad.
Flowers are bell-shaped, with six white, pink, or lilac tepals, and bloom from late winter to spring.
==Etymology== The genus name is derived from the Greek words ''ol'', meaning "a little", and ''syn-'', meaning "joined",<ref name=Goldblatt2008>{{cite book |author1=Manning, John |author2=Goldblatt, Peter |title=The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification |publisher=Timber Press |location=Portland, Oregon|pages=219–21 |year=2008|isbn=978-0-88192-897-6}}</ref> referring to the stamens.<ref name="FNA">{{Citation |first1=Anita F. |last1=Cholewa |first2=Douglass M. |last2=Henderson |title=Olsynium |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=122839 |access-date=2012-09-22 |name-list-style=amp}}, in {{Citation |editor-last=Flora of North Americaial Committee |year=1982 |title=Flora of North America ''(online)'' |publisher=eFloras.org |url=http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=1 }} </ref>
==Taxonomy== The taxon ''Olsynium'' was formerly considered as part of the genus ''Sisyrinchium''. The following species are recognised in the genus ''Olsynium'':<ref name="WCSP">Search for "Olsynium", {{Citation |title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/ |access-date=2012-09-22 }}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Scientific name !! Distribution |- |120px|| ''Olsynium acaule'' <small>(Klatt) Goldblatt</small> || Peru, Bolivia, northwestern Argentina |- | || ''Olsynium andinum'' <small>(Phil.) Ravenna</small> || central Chile, Neuquén Province in Argentina |- |120px|| ''Olsynium biflorum'' <small>(Thunb.) Goldblatt</small> || Santa Cruz + Tierra del Fuego Provinces in southern Argentina |- | || ''Olsynium bodenbenderi'' <small>(Kurtz) Goldblatt</small> || Mendoza Province in Argentina |- | || ''Olsynium chrysochromum'' <small>J.M.Watson & A.R.Flores</small> || central Chile |- |120px|| ''Olsynium douglasii'' <small>(A.Dietr.) E.P.Bicknell</small> || British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, extreme northern California, Idaho, northern Nevada, northwestern Utah |- | || ''Olsynium filifolium'' <small>(Gaudich.) Goldblatt</small> || southern Argentina, Falkland Islands |- |120px|| ''Olsynium junceum'' <small>(E.Mey. ex C.Presl) Goldblatt</small> || Bolivia, Argentina, Chile |- | || ''Olsynium lyckholmii'' <small>(Dusén) Goldblatt</small> || central Chile, southern Argentina |- | || ''Olsynium nigricans'' <small>(Phil.) R.A.Rodr. & Martic.</small> || Maule Province in Chile |- | || ''Olsynium obscurum'' <small>(Cav.) Goldblatt</small> || southern Chile, Tierra del Fuego Province in Argentina |- | || ''Olsynium philippii'' <small>(Klatt) Goldblatt</small> || central Chile |- | || ''Olsynium porphyreum'' <small>(Kraenzl.) Ravenna</small> || Peru |- |120px|| ''Olsynium scirpoideum'' <small>(Poepp.) Goldblatt</small> || central + northern Chile, Rio Negro Province in Argentina |- | || ''Olsynium stoloniferum'' <small>Ravenna</small> || O'Higgins Province in Chile |- | || ''Olsynium trinerve'' <small>(Baker) R.A.Rodr. & Martic.</small> || Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile |- | || ''Olsynium villosum'' <small>Ravenna</small> || Santiago Province in Chile |- |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=122839 Flora of North America] * [http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Olsynium Pacific Bulb Society] * Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2647307}}
Category:Sisyrinchieae Category:Iridaceae genera Category:Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Category:Flora of the Americas