Disporum, commonly known as fairy bells, is a genus of about 20 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Colchicaceae (order Liliales). The genus is native to Asia, ranging from northern India and the Himalayas east to Japan, south to Indonesia, and north into the Russian Far East, with the greatest diversity in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.
The genus was first described from Chinese material: Disporum pullum (now treated as a synonym of D. cantoniense) was named by Salisbury in 1812, though the first valid published description was made by Don in 1825. Under the APG III classification the genus is placed in Colchicaceae. Formerly, five North American species were included in Disporum, but differences in karyology, chemistry, and molecular phylogenetics led to their transfer to the closely related genus Prosartes D.Don, which is now placed in Liliaceae.
The Asian species — roughly 20 in total — are woodland perennials, with species ranging across a broad swathe of temperate and subtropical Asia. Notable members include Disporum sessile (Japanese fairy bells), widespread in Japan, Korea, and the Russian Far East; Disporum longistylum (Chinese fairy bells), native to central and southwestern China; and Disporum smilacinum, found from Japan and Korea to Shandong province. Several species are endemic to Taiwan, including D. kawakamii and D. shimadae.
Taxonomy Notes
Disporum was first validly described by Don in 1825, based on Salisbury's earlier (1812) name D. pullum from China. The APG III system places the genus in Colchicaceae within Liliales. North American taxa formerly treated as Disporum have been segregated into Prosartes D.Don (Liliaceae) on the basis of karyological, chemical, and molecular evidence. The type species, D. pullum Salisb., is now treated as a synonym of D. cantoniense.
Distribution
Disporum is native to Asia, extending from northern India and the eastern Himalayas through China (numerous provinces), Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam to Indonesia, with a northern outpost in the Russian Far East. Species diversity is highest in China. The formerly included North American species are now assigned to the segregate genus Prosartes.
