Bessera Explained

Bessera is a genus of Mexican plants in the cluster lily subfamily within the asparagus family.^[1] It is a small genus of 5 known species of mostly herbaceous flowering plants with corms.^[2] They have flowers with petals and petaloid sepals (tepals) with compound pistils.

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.

Taxonomy

Species

The currently accepted species listed in Plants of the World Online are:^[3]

1. Bessera elegans Schult.f. — central to southern Mexico.
2. Bessera elegantissima E.Gándara, Ortiz-Brunel, Art.Castro & Ruiz-Sanchez
3. Bessera ramirezii E.Gándara, Ortiz-Brunel, Art.Castro & Ruiz-Sanchez
4. 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.
5. 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]

• Bessera azurea — Pulmonaria angustifolia
• Bessera breviflora — Androstephium breviflorum
• Bessera calycantha — Guapira opposita
• Bessera inermis — Flueggea virosa
• Bessera spinosa — Drypetes alba

Notes and References

1. Govaerts, R. (1996). World Checklist of Seed Plants 2(1, 2): 1-492. Continental Publishing, Deurne.
2. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=300572 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
3. Web site: Bessera Schult.f. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2023-11-01 . Plants of the World Online . en.