Tecophilaea is a genus of cormous plants in the family Tecophilaeaceae. There are two known species, both native to southern South America.
Tecophilaea are perennial, cormous herbs
The trilocular capsule fruit bears many seeds.
It was validly published by Luigi Aloysius Colla in 1836 based on previous work by Carlo Luigi Giuseppe Bertero. The type species is Tecophilaea violiflora . It is the type genus of its family Tecophilaeaceae
The genus Tecophilaea was named after the botanical artist Tecophila Billotti, the daughter of the Italian botanist Luigi Aloysius Colla, who published the genus.
Species
Tecophilaea cyanocrocus was believed to be extinct in the wild, but was rediscovered in 2001.
It is endemic to Peru and Chile.