Worsleya

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Speciesbox |image = 1 Worsleya procera, Petrópolis, Brazil.jpg |image_caption = ''Worsleya procera'' near Petrópolis, Brazil |genus= Worsleya |parent_authority=(W.Watson ex Traub) Traub |species= procera |authority=(Lem.) Traub<ref name="WCSP">{{Citation |contribution=Worsleya procera|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=291432 |access-date=2012-12-29}}</ref> |synonyms_ref=<ref>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-291432 The Plant List]</ref><ref>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=298863 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref><ref>[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/100354478 Tropicos, ''Worsleya'' (W. Watson ex Traub) Traub ]</ref> |synonyms= *''Amaryllis'' subg. ''Worselya'' W.Watson ex Traub * ''Hippeastrum procerum'' Lem. * ''Amaryllis procera'' Duch. 1863, illegitimate homonym not Salisb. 1796 * ''Amaryllis rayneri'' Hook.f. * ''Worsleya rayneri'' (Hook.f.) Traub & Moldenke | status = CR | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref =<ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Moraes, L. |year=2016 |title=''Worsleya procera'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T107250165A107302241 |doi= |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref> |display_parents = 2 }}

'''''Worsleya''''' is a genus of Brazilian plants in the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae, cultivated as an ornamental because of its showy, pale violet flowers, often with a yellow stripe down the middle of each tepal. There is only one known species, '''''Worsleya procera''''', native to eastern Brazil.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/pbs/2004-September/019500.html |title=pbs New wiki photos Worsleya bloom |author=Mabberley, David |date=May 3, 2002 |access-date=6 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last = Mabberley | first = David | author-link = David Mabberley | title = The plant-book. A portable dictionary of the higher plants. | publisher = Cambridge University Press | date = 1987 }}</ref><ref>Traub, Hamilton Paul 1944. Herbertia 10: 89</ref> It is endemic to the mountains around Petrópolis, about {{cvt|40|–|50|km}} north of Rio de Janeiro.<ref>{{cite web | title=''Worsleya'' observations | website=iNaturalist | date=2008-03-19 | url=https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?subview=map&taxon_id=379618 | access-date=2025-06-13}}</ref> Here the sickle-shaped leaves curve northward. When grown in the northern hemisphere, the leaves curve southward.<ref>{{cite book | last= Martinelli | first= Gustavo | date= 1989 | title= Campos de Altitude | location= <not stated> | publisher= Editora index | pages= 70–78 }}</ref> It has one of the largest bulbs, around {{cvt|1.5|m}} high by up to {{cvt|30|cm}} thick near the base)<ref>{{ cite book | last1= Everard | first1= Barbara | last2= Morley |first2= Brian D. | date= 1970 | title= Wildflowers of the World | location=New York | publisher= G.P. Putnam's Sons| page= Plate 190 with caption}}</ref> and also rarest members of the subfamily Amaryllidoideae (family Amaryllidaceae).

thumb|right|Botanical illustration of ''Worsleya procera'' <ref>1871 illustration from Hooker, Joseph Dalton. Curtis's Botanical Magazine, volume 97 Series 3, issue 27, plate 5883, as ''Amaryllis rayneri''</ref>

This species is also known as the '''Empress of Brazil''' because of its origin in South America and in reference to Teresa Cristina, the wife of Emperor Dom Pedro II.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} It grows in very extreme and moist environments, and is commonly found near waterfalls in rich soil situated on granite rocks (which is why it is sometimes considered to be a lithophyte) and sunny places. However, it can be difficult to cultivate. It has plenty of needs, though it can exhibit great hardiness. It also has many ornamental traits.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

== Description == thumb|Seeds of ''Worsleya procera'' (Lem.) Traub with scale bar (1 cm) The plant has a large bulb that produces a high stem with green recurved leaves. ''Worsleya'' produces spectacular and beautiful blooms. They are large, lilac to blue, with small freckles on them. The seeds are black and semicircular, and (when cultivated) are usually sown in pumice or sometimes ''Sphagnum,'' although with ''Sphagnum'' the threat of decay is higher.<ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6167409#page/139/mode/1up Lemaire, (Antoine) Charles. 1864. L'illustration horticole 11: t. 408. as ''Hippeastrum procerum'' ].</ref><ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/251126#page/80/mode/1up Duchartre, Pierre Étienne Simon. 1863. Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France 10: 75. as ''Amaryllis procera'' nom illeg., not Salisbury 1796].</ref><ref>Traub, Hamilton Paul & Moldenke, Harold Norman. 1949. Amaryllis Manual 23. as ''Worsleya rayneri''</ref>

==Conservation== It is critically endangered,<ref name="iucn" /> and it is included in the Brazilian official list of endangered species.<ref name = "MEIRELLES et al. 1999">MEIRELLES, S. T., PIVELLO, V. R., & JOLY, C. A. (1999). The vegetation of granite rock outcrops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the need for its protection. Environmental Conservation, 26(1), 10–20. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44519516</ref>

==Etymology== It is named after Arthington Worsley (1861-1943).<ref name = "Gardens by the Bay, 2023">Empress of Brazil (''Worsleya procera''). (n.d.). Gardens by the Bay. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/learn-with-us/explore-resources/whats-blooming/empress-of-brazil-worsleya-procera.html</ref>

==Cytology== The diploid chromosome count is 2n = 42 unlike its sister group ''Griffinia'' with 2n = 20.<ref name = "Dutilh, 2003">Dutilh, J. A. H. (2003, August). [https://wwwlib.teiep.gr/images/stories/acta/Acta%20683/683_2.pdf "Ornamental bulbous plants of Brazil."] In V International Symposium on New Floricultural Crops 683 (pp. 37-42).</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Amaryllidoideae Category:Amaryllidaceae genera Category:Monotypic Asparagales genera Category:Flora of Northeast Brazil Category:Flora of Southeast Brazil Category:Endemic flora of Brazil Category:Critically endangered flora of South America