® Floriculture and Ornamental Biotechnology ©2012 Global Science Books Mexican Geophytes II. The Genera Hymenocallis, Sprekelia and Zephyranthes Ernesto Tapia-Campos1 • Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Dominguez1 • María de los Milagros Revuelta-Arreola1 • Jaap M. Van Tuyl2 • Rodrigo Barba-Gonzalez1* 1 Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco A.C. Biotecnología Vegetal, Av. Normalistas #800. Colinas de la Normal., Guadalajara Jalisco, C.P. 44270, Mexico 2 Plant Breeding, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands Corresponding author : * [email protected]; [email protected] ABSTRACT Among hundreds of bulbous ornamental plants native to tropical and subtropical America, different genera from the Amaryllidaceae family such as Hymenocallis, Sprekelia and Zephyranthes present an enormous potential as ornamental crops. The genus Hymenocallis comprises over 60 species distributed from the north of Brazil to the south east of the United States; many of them are endemic to Mexico. The flowers are star shaped and white. The different species grow in a wide and contrasting diversity of habitats, near rivers and streams, on occasion completely submerged under water and sometimes in dry areas. The genus presents a complicated phylogeny, where in some cases it is difficult to distinguish species from hybrids. The genus Sprekelia is a monotypic genus native to Mexico; Sprekelia formosissima is cultivated as an ornamental pot plant in many countries. It presents solitary red flowers, their stems reaches up to 80 to 90 cm. The genus Zephyranthes comprises over 70 species distributed in tropical and subtropical America; different species are cultivated all over the world as an ornamental crop. The different species have beautiful flowers from white to yellow with various tints from lemon to sulphur and pink. In this review we will cover taxonomical, chromosomal and phenological aspects of these genera, with the aim of providing a reference of useful traits for breeding programs. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Keywords: breeding, in vitro culture, ornamental, perspectives, taxonomy Abbreviations: BA, 6-benzyladenine; GA3, gibberellic acid; IBA, indole-3-butyric acid; ITS, internal transcribed spacer region; RFLP, restriction fragment polymorphism CONTENTS INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................................................... 129 ORIGIN...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 130 HYMENOCALLIS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 131 Biology and morphology....................................................................................................................................................................... 131 Hymenocallis ‘traditional’ classification................................................................................................................................................ 131 Hymenocallis propagation and culture................................................................................................................................................... 131 ZEPHYRANTHES ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 132 Biology and morphology....................................................................................................................................................................... 132 Zephyranthes propagation and culture................................................................................................................................................... 134 Zephyranthes reproduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 134 Zephyranthes breeding .......................................................................................................................................................................... 135 SPREKELIA ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 136 Biology and morphology....................................................................................................................................................................... 136 Sprekelia propagation and culture ......................................................................................................................................................... 136 Sprekelia breeding ................................................................................................................................................................................. 136 ALKALOIDS OF HYMENOCALLIS, SPREKELIA AND ZEPHYRANTHES ........................................................................................... 137 CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................................................................................................ 137 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................................................................... 138 REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................................................................... 138 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION genera have been cultivated in some cases, for centuries; however, it is worthwhile to reconsider their potential as The Amaryllidaceae J. St.-Hil. is a cosmopolitan family ornamental plants and for their pharmaceutical importance (predominantly pantropical) of petaloid monocots (Meerow due to their alkaloid content. The aim of this work is to give et al. 1999). Its origin is western Gondwanaland in Africa, an insight to the origin of the genera, their culture and from where it radiated to Australia, Eurasia and America propagation techniques, and to focus attention on traits of (Huber 1969; Raven and Axelrod 1974; Meerow et al. ornamental importance of the Mexican species to set a base 1999). The genera Hymenocallis Salisb., Sprekelia Heister for their use in breeding programs. and Zephyranthes Herb. are components of terminal sub- clades whose higher diversity is present in Mexico. These Received: 26 January, 2011. Accepted: 20 December, 2012. Invited Review Floriculture and Ornamental Biotechnology 6 (Special Issue 1), 129-139 ©2012 Global Science Books Table 1 Mexican species of the genus Hymenocallis, their distribution in Mexico and some traits of ornamental interest. Species Distribution Traits of interest H. acutifolia (Herb. ex Sims) Sweet Wide distribution Narrow foliage, blooms from late summer through autumn H. araniflora T.M.Howard Sur Sinaloa, Nayarit Clusters of long-tubed, sweet-scented blooms, pale green to grayish foliage (Ogden 2007) H. astrostephana T.M.Howard Guerrero Costate leaves, two to five long-tubed flowers (Howard 2001) H. azteciana Traub. Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas Spreading, long-stemmed or petiolated leaves with a satiny dusting of gray overlaying dark green. Small clusters of erect blooms (Ogden 2007) H. baumlii Ravenna Chiapas Erect green star-shaped leaves, ribbon-like flowers (Howard 2001) H. choretis Hemsl. C & SW. Mexico Large-cupped snowy blossoms, with orange pollen. Gray foliage (Ogden 2007) H. cleo Ravenna Chiapas Medium-sized white flowers, broad, glaucous, petiolated leaves (Howard 2001) H. clivorum Laferr Sonora Green stamens, long and thin tepals H. concinna Baker Jalisco Endangered species H. cordifolia Micheli Guerrero Heart-shaped petiolated leaves, umbels of small white flowers (Howard 2001) H. durangoensis T.M.Howard Durango Thick and short sepals. Blooms in early summer. Self-compatible. Endangered specie H. eucharidifolia Baker Guerrero, Oaxaca Broad, green hosta-like foliage. Snowy foliage held in up-facing groups of three or more H. galuca (Zucc.) M.Roem. C&SW Mexico Large-cupped upright snowy blossoms, with orange pollen with a ammonia or chlorine fragrance. Gray foliage (Ogden 2007) H. graminifolia Greenm Morelos Dwarf, glaucous leaves, fragrant flowers (Howard 2001) H. guerreroensis T.M.Howard Guerrero Endangered species H. harrisiana Herb C & SW Mexico Small upright flowers with good sized blooms H. howardii Bauml SW Mexico Small plant of glaucous foliage, blooms form mid-June through mid-July H. imperialis T.M.Howard San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo Wide, snowy petals. Blooms from late April and May. The bulbs are huge and the big leaves are spear-shaped. H. jaliscensis M.E.Jones Jalisco, Nayarit Big upright flowers (Borys et al. 2008) H. leavenworthii (Standl. & Michoacán Spreading long stemmed or petiolated leaves with a satiny