Mass on i a (masonia)

[NL. (Thunberg, 1781), named after F. Ma on, a botanical writer and explorer of the 18th century.] A genus of liliaceous plants of the tribe Allieæ, the onion family, and type of the subtribe Ma onieæ. They have a regular cylindrical perianth-tube, with five are longer than the perianth, and are united by their filaments into a ring at the base. They are bulbous herbs, with two ovate radical leaves which lie flat on the ground, and an umbel-like head of numerous usually white flowers. The scape is very short, the head being almost se ile between the leaves, and surrounded by a many-leafed membranous involucre. About 20 species are known, all from the south of Africa; several of them are cultivated for their singular appearance.