Ophiopogon

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Ophiopogon

Description

Leaves basal, linear or petioled with a broad lamina, expanded at the base to form a conspicuous scarious sheath. Inflorescence a raceme. Ovary wall rupturing early in the growth of the seeds which are therefore exposed during most of their development. Ovary superior to inferior, 3-celled; Seeds blue, often globose, with fleshy testa;

Distribution

Asia-Temperate: Taiwan (Taiwan present), Asia-Tropical: Borneo present; India present; Jawa (Jawa present); Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia present); Philippines (Philippines present); Sumatera (Sumatera present); Thailand (Thailand present), Japan present, southern China present
India through to southern China to Thailand, Indo-China, Japan and Taiwan; in Malesia: Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Philippines.
About 70 spp. of Ophiopogon have been described, but I doubt whether more than a third of these should be recognized.

Notes

Ridley recognized O. malayanus, O. intermedins and O. prolifera from the Malay Peninsula. No fertile material has been seen from this area and the only specimens seen (Corner SF 37872, K & L, and Soepadmo & Mahomud 1214, K) do not differ significantly from O. eauleseens.
No Malayan material identified as O. intermedins or O. prolifera has been seen.
Ridley characterized O. prolifera by having the filaments connate, and distinguished O. intermedins from O. malayanus on its larger flowers (12 mm wide). He did not give a comparable figure for O. malayanus but recorded that the segments were 3 mm long.
The descriptions could all be of varieties of O. eauleseens, falling within the morphological range known for that species from Java, except that the shortest perianth recorded for Java material is 4 mm long (almost 50% greater than the length recorded for O. malayanus).
O. malayanus has also been recorded from the Philippines and Borneo (Merrill, 1922).
Material from continental Asia of O. intermedius resembles O.japonieus, but no material has been seen from the Malay Peninsula.

Citation

Hook.f. 1892 – In: Fl. Br. Ind.: 267
Ohwi 1934 – In: Fedde, Rep. 36: 45
Farwell 1921 – In: Amer. Midland Nat.: 41
Krause 1930 – In: E. & P., Nat. Pfl. Fam., ed. 2, 15a: 377
Hassk. 1851 – In: Flora: 481
Ker-Gawl. 1934 – In: Fl. Gen. I.-C.: 655
Baker 1879 – In: J. Linn. Soc. Bot.: 500
Rodriguez 1928 – In: Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr.: 997
Ridl. 1924 – In: Fl. Mal. Pen.: 326
Back. & Bakh.f. 1968 – In: Fl. Java: 95
L. H. Bailey 1929 – In: Gentes Herb.: 17