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Orphium
Orphium is a genus of flowering plant in the Gentian family, Gentianaceae. It is endemic to South Africa. The name derives from the legendary Greek musician Orpheus. The genus contains a single accepted species, Orphium frutescens, commonly known as the sea rose. Orphium arenarium C.Presl has been proposed as another species, but data suggest that it is synonymous with Chironia arenaria E.Mey.
Orphium frutescens grows in the western coastal regions of Cape Province, South Africa. It is often found on the coast where it tolerates sandy and saline soil. It also tolerates clay as well however. It does best in temperatures from 7 °C (45 °F) to 24 °C (75 °F). It has been under cultivation at the Kew Gardens in London since the late 18th century. The flowers do not release pollen unless they sense the vibrations of carpenter bees native to South Africa and so the plant will not produce seed without manual intervention when it is grown as an exotic.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Orphium by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
