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Bessera is a genus of Mexican plants in the cluster lily subfamily within the asparagus family.[4][5] It is a small genus of 5 known species of mostly herbaceous flowering plants with corms.[3] They have flowers with petals and petaloid sepals (tepals) with compound pistils.
| Bessera | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Bessera elegans 1839 illustration[1] | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Subfamily: | Brodiaeoideae |
| Genus: | Bessera Schult.f. 1829, conserved name not Schult. 1809 (Boraginaceae) nor Spreng. 1815 (Putranjivaceae) nor Vell. 1825 (Nyctaginaceae)[2] |
| Synonyms[3] | |
| |
The genus is named for Austrian and Russian botanist Wilibald Swibert Joseph Gottlieb von Besser (1784–1842).
Bessera elegans, called coral drops, is cultivated and is a half-hardy Mexican herbaceous plant growing from corms with drooping terminal umbels of showy red-and-white colored flowers.
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Species
The currently accepted species listed in Plants of the World Online are:[6]
- Bessera elegans Schult.f. — central to southern Mexico.
- Bessera elegantissima E.Gándara, Ortiz-Brunel, Art.Castro & Ruiz-Sanchez
- Bessera ramirezii E.Gándara, Ortiz-Brunel, Art.Castro & Ruiz-Sanchez
- Bessera tenuiflora (Greene) J.F.Macbr. — Baja California Sur state, including the southern Baja California Peninsula and Gulf of California islands; and the coastal region of mainland Northwestern Mexico.
- Bessera tuitensis R.Delgad. — Jalisco state in coastal southwestern Mexico.
Former species
Some plants formerly classified as Bessera species have been reclassified under other genera, which include: Androstephium, Drypetes, Flueggea, Guapira, and Pulmonaria.
Former species include:[2][3]
- Bessera azurea — Pulmonaria angustifolia
- Bessera breviflora — Androstephium breviflorum
- Bessera calycantha — Guapira opposita
- Bessera inermis — Flueggea virosa
- Bessera spinosa — Drypetes alba
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