Cyanotis vaga (Lour.) Schult. & Schult.f.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Mt Nyangani

Photo: Bart Wursten
Mt Rukotso, Nyanga

Photo: Bart Wursten
Mt Chinaka, Juliasdale

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Connemara, World's View, Nyanga

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Synonyms:	Cyanotis abyssinica A. Rich. Cyanotis abyssinica A. Rich. var. glabrescens A. Rich. Cyanotis barbata D.Don Cyanotis hirsuta Fisch., C.A. Meyer & Avé-Lall. var. glabra K. Schum. Cyanotis hirsuta Fisch., C.A. Meyer & Avé-Lall. Cyanotis parasitica (Hassk.) Hassk. Zygomanes parasitica Hassk.
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Perennial herb with ascending or decumbent stems up to 45 cm long, arising from an underground corm. Basal leaf rosettes absent. Leaves along the stems often tinged reddish purple, linear lanceolate up to 19 cm long, sheathing at the base for up to 3 cm, more or less hairy on both surfaces; margins ciliate. Inflorescences from the upper 1-3 nodes. Bracts boat-shaped,1-8 cm long. Flowers subsessile 1-1.5 cm in diameter, opening in the morning blue to mauve, pink or magenta, rarely white or violet. Stamens 6, densely bearded with hairs of similar or contrasting colours. ; anthers sometimes dark blue, brown or black near the base, rest yellow to orange.
Type location:	Nepal
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	barbata: with tufts of hairs, bearded
Habitat:	Among rocks in montane grassland, vleis, forest margins and in shallow soil on rocks.
Altitude range: (metres)
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Ghana, Cameroon, Bioko, DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Also in Yemen, India, Nepal, Bhutan and China.
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Baumann, G. (2005). Photographic Guide to Wildflowers of Malawi Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi Pages 244 - 245. as Cyanotis barbata (Includes a picture). Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 294. as Cyanotis barbata Chapano, C. & Mamuto, M. (2003). Plants of the Chimanimani District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 18. as Cyanotis barbata Faden, R. (2012). Commelinaceae Flora of Tropical East Africa Pages 20 - 22. as Cyanotis barbata Malaise, P. (1988). Commelinaceae Flore du Rwanda Spermatophytes Volume IV Pages 135 - 136. as Cyanotis barbata (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 87. as Cyanotis barbata Ntore, S. & al. (2024). Checklist of the vascular plants of Burundi Page 86. Strugnell, A.M. (2006). A Checklist of the Spermatophytes of Mount Mulanje, Malawi Scripta Botanica Belgica 34 National Botanic Garden of Belgium Page 70. as Cyanotis barbata Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 82. as Cyanotis barbata

Other sources of information about Cyanotis vaga:

Our websites:

Flora of the DRC: Cyanotis vaga
Flora of Malawi: Cyanotis vaga
Flora of Mozambique: Cyanotis vaga
Flora of Rwanda: Cyanotis vaga
Flora of Zimbabwe: Cyanotis vaga

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Cyanotis vaga
African Plant Database: Cyanotis vaga
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Cyanotis vaga
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Cyanotis vaga
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Cyanotis vaga
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Cyanotis vaga
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Cyanotis vaga
JSTOR Plant Science: Cyanotis vaga
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Cyanotis vaga
Plants of the World Online: Cyanotis vaga
Tropicos: Cyanotis vaga
Wikipedia: Cyanotis vaga