# Simethis

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{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Speciesbox
| taxon = Simethis mattiazzii
| image=Simethis_planifolia_1.JPG
| authority=(Vand.) Sacc.
| synonyms_ref=<ref name=s/>
| synonyms=
*''Pubilaria'' <small>Raf.</small>
*''Morgagnia'' <small>Bubani</small>
*''Sieboldia'' <small>Heynh.</small>
*''Pogonella'' <small>Salisb.</small>
*''Anthericum mattiazzii'' <small>Vand.</small>
*''Pubilaria mattiazzii'' <small>(Vand.) Samp.</small>
*''Anthericum planifolium'' <small>L.</small>
*''Anthericum bicolor'' <small>Desf.</small>
*''Anthericum ericetorum'' <small>Bergeret</small>
*''Phalangium bicolor'' <small>(Desf.) DC.</small> 
*''Phalangium planifolium'' <small>(L.) Pers.</small>
*''Bulbine planifolia'' <small>(L.) Spreng.</small>
*''Hemierium planifolium'' <small>(L.) Raf.</small>
*''Pubilaria bicolor'' <small>(Desf.) Raf.</small>
*''Morgagnia bicolor'' <small>(Desf.) Bubani</small>
*''Simethis bicolor'' <small>(Desf.) Kunth</small>
*''Sieboldia bicolor'' <small>(Desf.) Heynh.</small>
*''Simethis planifolia'' <small>(L.) Gren. & Godr</small>
*''Phalangium holosericeum'' <small>Pourr. ex Willk. & Lange</small>
*''Pubilaria planifolia'' <small>(L.) Samp.</small>
}}

'''''Simethis''''' is a genus of plants in the family [Asphodelaceae](/source/Asphodelaceae), subfamily [Hemerocallidoideae](/source/Hemerocallidoideae).<ref>{{citation |last=Stevens |first=P.&nbsp;F. |title=Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Hemerocalloideae |url=http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/orders/asparagalesweb.htm#Hemerocallidoideae }}</ref> It contains only one known species, '''''Simethis mattiazzii''''', commonly called the '''Kerry lily'''.<ref name=s>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=287770 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''wcsp.science.kew.org''</ref><ref>[http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=simethis+mattiazzi Altervista Flora Italiana, Lilioasfodelo di Mattiazzi, Xanthorrhoeaceae: ''Simethis mattiazzi'' (Vandelli) Sacc. ]</ref>

It grows in dry places especially near the coast in Western Europe ([Ireland](/source/Ireland), [France](/source/France), [Spain](/source/Spain), [Portugal](/source/Portugal), [Italy](/source/Italy)) and northern [Africa](/source/Africa) ([Algeria](/source/Algeria), [Morocco](/source/Morocco), [Tunisia](/source/Tunisia)). Its common name is based on its occurrence at a few sites in [County Kerry](/source/County_Kerry), [Ireland](/source/Ireland).<ref name=s/>

==Description==
[[File:Simethis planifolia habitus.JPG|thumb|Growth habit (wild specimen, [Ceuta](/source/Ceuta), Spanish territory in N. Africa)]]
The Kerry lily is a perennial plant reaching a maximum height of {{convert|25|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}. It has a vertical [rhizome](/source/rhizome) and fleshy roots. The leaves grow from the base of the plant and are up to {{convert|30|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long; they are narrow, linear and grass-like, and sometimes curl. The [inflorescence](/source/inflorescence) is a sparsely-branched, erect, wiry stem bearing a few small leaves and a loose spike of three to ten [flower](/source/flower)s with six [tepal](/source/tepal)s. The flowers are {{convert|2|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} in diameter, purple-grey in bud and gleaming white when they open. The six [stamen](/source/stamen)s have fuzzy white [filaments](/source/Stamen) tipped by yellow [anthers](/source/Stamen). The fruit is a three-lobed [capsule](/source/Capsule_(fruit)). The Kerry lily flowers in May and June.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/plant_detail.php?id_flower=152&wildflower=Lily,%20Kerry |title=Kerry lily |publisher=Wildflowers of Ireland |accessdate=4 March 2020}}</ref><ref name=Gianguzzi>{{cite journal |last1=Gianguzzi |first1=Lorenzo |last2=Cusimano |first2=Dario |last3=Bonventre |first3=Vito |last4=Romano |first4=Salvatore |last5=Ilardi |first5=Vincenzo |year=2012 |title=Bio-ecological, phytosociological and conservation aspects of relictual and disjointed populations of ''Simethis mattiazzi'' (Vandelli) Sacc. (Xanthorrhoeaceae) in the Channel of Sicily |journal=Acta Botanica Gallica |volume=159 |issue=3 |pages=303–318 |doi=10.1080/12538078.2012.737141|s2cid=82392683 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2012AcBG..159..303G }}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
The Kerry lily has a scattered, mainly maritime, distribution in Western Europe and North Africa. The only place in the [British Isles](/source/British_Isles) where it is found is in [County Kerry](/source/County_Kerry) in southwestern Ireland, where it is restricted to a {{convert|20|km2|mi2|1|abbr=on}} area around [Derrynane](/source/Derrynane).<ref>{{cite news |title=Kerry, a haven for many rare species |author=Hickey, Donal |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/outdoors/donal-hickey/kerry-a-haven-for-many-rare-species-99787.html |newspaper=Irish Examiner |date=31 August 2009 |accessdate=8 March 2020}}</ref> It occurs in western France, the Pyrenees, the Atlantic coastal strip of northern and western Spain and Portugal, the Mediterranean coastal strip of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and isolated sites in western Italy, Sicily, Corsica  and Sardinia. In different parts of its range it inhabits [grassland](/source/grassland) and heathland habitats, maquis, shrubland and cork-oak woodland. It is common in the Atlantic belt of Europe but rare in many of the other scattered locations in which it grows.<ref name=Gianguzzi/>

This plant has a [relictual](/source/Relict_(biology)) distribution, with southwestern Ireland being its most northerly occurrence. It was recorded from Dorset in southern England, but seems to now be extinct there. It is more common in Brittany and the Loire Valley, and the northern flanks of the [Pyrenees](/source/Pyrenees) but much rarer further inland. It is also common in the coastal strip of the Iberian Peninsula, and was discovered growing on the island of [Marettimo](/source/Marettimo), Sicily, for the first time in 2012. The population in North Africa is very fragmentary.<ref name=Gianguzzi/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717032050/http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/flora.php?menuentry=soorten&id=4726 Interactive Flora of NW Europe]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q10371644}}

Category:Hemerocallidoideae
Category:Monotypic Asphodelaceae genera
Category:Flora of Europe
Category:Flora of North Africa

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Simethis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simethis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simethis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.