Anticlea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Melanthiaceae (order Liliales), placed in the tribe Melanthieae. The genus comprises bulbous perennial herbs distributed across Asia and the Americas, from much of the Russian Federation, China, Mongolia, Korea, and Sakhalin in the east, through much of North and Central America south to Guatemala in the west.
Members of Anticlea are distinguished from related genera by the presence of narrow tepals bearing a single, conspicuous, bilobed gland — a character that separates them from the closely related deathcamases of the former broad genus Zigadenus. For much of its taxonomic history, Anticlea was submerged within Zigadenus, but molecular phylogenetic studies conducted in the 21st century confirmed it as a distinct genus. Some species were also transferred into Anticlea from Stenanthium based on this revised understanding of the tribe Melanthieae.
Well-known members include Anticlea elegans (elegant camas or alkali grass), which ranges across western and northern North America, and Anticlea occidentalis (western featherbells or bronze-bells), found from British Columbia south into the Pacific states. Anticlea sibirica represents the genus across a broad swath of northeastern Asia.
The genus name honours Anticlea of Ithaca, a queen in Greek mythology and mother of Odysseus.
Etymology
The genus name Anticlea honours Anticlea (or Anticlia) of Ithaca, a figure from Greek mythology — a queen of Ithaca and wife of King Laërtes, and mother of Odysseus. The name was applied to the plant genus in recognition of this mythological figure.
Distribution
Anticlea has a wide, disjunct distribution spanning Asia and the Americas. In Asia, species occur across much of the Russian Federation (including Sakhalin and Khabarovsk), China, Mongolia, Korea, and the islands of Rebun and Rishiri. In the Americas, the genus ranges from Alaska and Canada south through the western and central United States into Mexico and Central America, reaching Guatemala.
Taxonomy Notes
Anticlea was historically submerged within the broad genus Zigadenus (the deathcamases), and several of its species carried Zigadenus synonyms. Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century established its separate position within the tribe Melanthieae of Melanthiaceae. Several species were additionally transferred from Stenanthium into Anticlea. The defining morphological character is the presence of narrow tepals with a single conspicuous bilobed gland, distinguishing Anticlea from other former Zigadenus segregates.
