Nolina Explained

Nolina is a genus of tropical xerophytic flowering plants belonging to the Asparagaceae plant family. The native distribution of the genus includes most of Mexico and the southern regions of the United States.[1] [2] [3] [4] Especially in the USA, members of the genus are known as beargrasses, some of which are cultivated as ornamental plants.

Nolina species grow large rosettes of many leaves, with many species forming large, erect trunks, with some species branching to contain multiple rosettes of leaves. They are typically large plants, and are dioecious, with male and female flowers being produced on different plants.[5]

The genus is named for 18th century French arboriculturist Abbé C. P. Nolin.

Classification

In the APG III classification system of plant taxonomy, Nolina is a member of the Asparagaceae family of plants, and within this family, Nolina is part of a subfamily, the Nolinoideae. In the past, many members of the Nolinoideae, including Nolina, were placed in the now defunct Ruscaceae family). Former alternative placements include Nolinaceae and Agavaceae.

Previously, some botanists have included the genus Beaucarnea in Nolina, and over time, multiple species of both genera have been moved back and forth between the two genera. More recent molecular phylogenetic research found that Beaucarnea and Nolina are well supported by DNA and morphological evidence as being two distinct genera.[6]

Description

Nolina are perennial plants, with some growing as tufts of leaves arising from near ground level with little or only a short above ground stem, whilst others grow in a tree-like manner forming a woody, leafless caudex or trunk of up to about 2-3m, that with age, may branch to form multiple branches. The shorter species, especially those not forming an above ground stem, usually form colonies, often with many rosettes. The leaves are arranged into rosettes of many long, linear leaves, with the leaves being broader where they meet the stem.[7]

The inflorescence consists of a scape (or a bare stem arising from the leaf rosettes) of between 5-250cm length, with panicles of flowers, of 30 to 180cm in length, held along the scape. Each node holds 2-5 functionally unisexual flowers. The tepals are white, cream or light tan. The fruits are capsular, 3-locular, 3-lobed and often inflated.

Species

As of November 2024, World Flora Online (WFO) lists the genus Nolina to contain 30 accepted species,[8] with Plants of the World Online (POWO) recognising 35 accepted species.[9] As of November 2024, the 35 accepted species of Nolina accepted by Kew/POWO are as follows:

  1. Nolina arenicola Correll  - Trans-Pecos beargrass - western Texas
  2. Nolina atopocarpa Bartlett  - Florida beargrass - Florida`
  3. Nolina azureogladiata D.Donati - Oaxaca
  4. Nolina beldingi Brandegee - Baja California Sur
  5. Nolina bigelovii (Torr.) S.Watson  - Bigelow's nolina - Sonora, Arizona, southern Nevada, southern California
  6. Nolina brandegeei (Trel.) L.Hern. - Mexico (Baja California)[10]
  7. Nolina brittoniana Nash  - Britton's beargrass - Florida
  8. Nolina caxcana Ruiz-Sanchez, P.Carrillo & L.Hern. - Mexico (Zacatecas, Jalisco)[11]
  9. Nolina cespitifera Trel. - Coahuila, Zacatecas, Nuevo León
  10. Nolina cismontana Dice  - Peninsular beargrass - southern California
  11. Nolina durangensis Trel. - Chihuahua, Durango
  12. Nolina erumpens (Torr.) S.Watson  - Foothill beargrass - Chihuahua, western Texas
  13. Nolina excelsa García-Mend. & E.Solano - Oaxaca
  14. Nolina georgiana Michx.  - Georgia beargrass - Georgia, South Carolina
  15. Nolina greenei S.Watson ex Trel.  - Woodland beargrass - New Mexico, southern Colorado, northwestern Texas, panhandle of Oklahoma
  16. Nolina hibernica Hochstaetter & D.Donati - Tamaulipas, Nuevo León
  17. Nolina humilis S.Watson - Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí
  18. Nolina interrata Gentry  - Dehesa beargrass - San Diego County, northern Baja California
  19. Nolina juncea (Zucc.) J.F.Macbr. - northern Mexico
  20. Nolina lindheimeriana (Scheele) S.Watson  - Devil's shoestring, Lindheimer nolina - central Texas
  21. Nolina matapensis Wiggins - Sonora, Chihuahua
  22. Nolina micrantha I.M.Johnst.  - Chaparral beargrass - Coahuila, Chihuahua, western Texas, southern New Mexico
  23. Nolina microcarpa S.Watson  - Palmilla Sacahuista - Chihuahua, Sonora, Arizona, New Mexico, southwestern Utah
  24. Nolina nelsonii Rose - Tamaulipas
  25. Nolina orbicularis L.Hern. - Mexico (Guanajuato to San Luis Potosi)[12]
  26. Nolina palmeri S.Watson - Baja California
  27. Nolina parryi S.Watson  - Parry's beargrass - Arizona, southern California, Baja California, Sonora
  28. Nolina parviflora (Kunth) Hemsl. - central and southern Mexico
  29. Nolina pollyjeanneae Hochstätter - USA (Oklahoma)[13]
  30. Nolina pumila Rose - northern and central Mexico
  31. Nolina rigida Trel. - Mexico; apparently extinct
  32. Nolina robusta L.Hern. - Mexico (Querétaro to San Luis Potosí)[14]
  33. Nolina rodriguezii Ruiz-Sanchez, P.Carrillo & L.Hern. - Mexico (Jalisco)[15]
  34. Nolina texana S.Watson  - Texas sacahuista - Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Chihuahua, Coahuila
  35. Nolina watsonii (Baker) Hemsl. - Mexico (Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí)[16]

As of November 2024, the five species recognised by POWO not currently accepted by WFO are:

Formerly placed here

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hess . William J. . Nolina Michaux, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 207. 1803. . 2011-08-06 . Flora of North America . eFloras.org.
  2. Hochstätter, F. (2010). The genus Nolina (Nolinaceae). Piante Grasse 2010(1, Suppl.): 1-48.
  3. http://bonap.net/NAPA/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Nolina Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution maps
  4. Trelease, William. 1911. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 50(200)
  5. 10.1600/036364418X697436. The Genus Nolina (Asparagaceae) of the Baja California Peninsula, and the Recognition of a New Species Combination. 2018. Hernández-Sandoval. Luis. Rebman. Jon P.. Systematic Botany. 43. 3. 717–733. 91615592.
  6. Rojas-Piña . Vanessa . Olson . Mark E. . Alvarado-Cárdenas . Leonardo O. . Eguiarte . Luis E. . 2014 . Molecular phylogenetics and morphology of Beaucarnea (Ruscaceae) as distinct from Nolina, and the submersion of Calibanus into Beaucarnea . TAXON . en . 63 . 6 . 1193–1211 . 10.12705/636.31 . 1996-8175.
  7. Web site: Nolina in Flora of North America @ efloras.org . 2024-11-27 . www.efloras.org.
  8. Web site: WFO (2024): Nolina Michx. Plant list. World Flora Online . 2024-11-27 . wfoplantlist.org.
  9. Web site: Nolina Michx. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2024-11-27 . Plants of the World Online . en.
  10. Web site: Nolina brandegeei (Trel.) L.Hern. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2024-11-27 . Plants of the World Online . en.
  11. Web site: Nolina caxcana Ruiz-Sanchez, P.Carrillo & L.Hern. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2024-11-27 . Plants of the World Online . en.
  12. Web site: Nolina orbicularis L.Hern. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2024-11-27 . Plants of the World Online . en.
  13. Web site: Nolina pollyjeanneae Hochstätter Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2024-11-27 . Plants of the World Online . en.
  14. Web site: Nolina robusta L.Hern. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2024-11-27 . Plants of the World Online . en.
  15. Web site: Nolina rodriguezii Ruiz-Sanchez, P.Carrillo & L.Hern. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2024-11-27 . Plants of the World Online . en.
  16. Web site: Nolina watsonii (Baker) Hemsl. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2024-11-27 . Plants of the World Online . en.
  17. Web site: GRIN Species Records of Nolina . 2011-03-31 . Germplasm Resources Information Network . United States Department of Agriculture.

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