Bulbless rhizomatousperennial plants. Clivia has showy orange or yellow flowers, while Cryptostephanus has smaller flowers with a paraperigone that had them erroneously classified with Narcissus in the past. it is also the only Haemantheae genus with a phytomelanousseedtesta.[1]
Taxonomy
For the early taxonomic history of these two genera, see Meerow and Clayton (2004).[1] (Traub described this grouping as tribe Clivieae in his 1963 monograph on the Amaryllidaceae, based on the type genusClivia. .[2] Subsequently, the Müller-Doblies' reduced it to a subtribe and placed it within the Haemantheae.[3] Later molecular phylogenetic research has confirmed this placement, with Cliviinae being one of three subtribes of Haemantheae.[1]
Phylogeny
The Cliviinae are placed within the Haemantheae as follows:
Clivia is found in summer rainfall regions, as herbaceousunderstory plants of coastal and Afro-montane forest, while Cryptostephanus are plants of savanna or forest habitats.[1]
Müller-Doblies, U.; Müller-Doblies, D. (1996). "Tribes and subtribes and some species combinations in Amaryllidaceae J St Hil R Dahlgren & al. 1985". Feddes Repertorium. 107 (5–6): S.c.1–S.c.9.