Cyanotis lanata Benth.

Global description

Cyanotis lanata has thick stems and leaves, quickly tinged with purple. The plant is covered with woolly hairs more or less dense. The flowers are solitary, in not very visible spathes grouped in terminal glomeruli. The stamens are grouped in bundles and bear long blue or purple hairs.

Cotyledon

The cotyledon is not visible because it remains in the seed.

First leaves

The first leaves have a linear lanceolate limb that fades at the base into a sheath covered with white, woolly hairs. The leaves are green, more or less covered with woolly hairs on the underside. The stem is purple in color.

General habit

Cyanotis lanata is erect. The plant sometimes grows into a single stem, but most often into a small branched bunch at the base. It measures 6 to 35 cm in height.

Underground system

The roots are fasciculate at the base of the plant. They are fibrous in nature.

Stem

The stem is erect, cylindrical and covered with woolly white hairs (some individuals may be almost hairless, however). The stem is crassulescent and strongly colored in purple by anthocyanin pigments.

Leaf

The leaves are alternate, of linear to lanceolate form. They are 3 to 7 mm wide and 5 to 8 cm long. They are thick and crassulescent. The upper and lower faces are provided with woolly white hairs more or less dense. The blade is provided with many parallel veins. The margin is undulating. The base of the blade weakens into a densely woolly sheath. The young leaves are green in color and blush as they age.

Inflorescence

The flowers are grouped into terminal glomeruli, bearing single flower spathes. The whole of the glomerulus is not very visible because of a dense entanglement of woolly hairs.

Flower

The sickle spathe is small (7 mm long). Only the upper part of the flower is visible, emerging from the spathe when it blossoms, between 7 and 10 o'clock in the morning. The three petals are similar, fused into a tube at the base of the corolla, rounded and free at the apex. They are blue, purple, pink or white. The stamens are grouped by 5 or 6 in bundle. They are 5-7 mm long and have long blue or purple hairs along the net and are surmounted by a bright yellow anther.

Fruit

The fruit is a dehiscent capsule with walls covered with long hairs. It is ovoid and is 3 mm high. It consists of three boxes and contains 5 or 6 seeds.

Seed

The seeds are pear-shaped, dark gray in color. Their surface is hollowed out by 2 or 3 deep transverse grooves. They are 1.5 mm long.

https://www.gbif.org/species/5303394