ALGERIAN IRIS

Iris unguicularis (also commonly known as the Algerian iris or Winter iris) is a rhizomatous flowering plant in the genus Iris, native to Greece, Turkey, Western Syria, and Tunisia. It grows to 30 centimetres, with grassy evergreen leaves, producing pale lilac or purple flowers with a central band of yellow on the falls. The flowers appear in winter and early spring. They are fragrant, with pronounced perianth tubes up to 20 cm long.

This plant is widely cultivated in temperate regions, and numerous cultivars have been selected for garden use, including a slightly more tender white form 'Alba', and a dwarf variety I. unguicularis subsp. cretensis. The cultivar 'Mary Barnard' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

MONTBRETIA

Montbretias belong in the the Iridaceae family of bulbs, the Crocosmias having originated in Southern Africa. Montbretia is a hardy member of the Crocosmia group and is very easy to grow. Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora (Montbretia) is a garden hybrid of C. aurea and C. pottsii, first bred by Victor Lemoine in 1880.

The variety illustrated here is ‘His Majesty’.The orange flowers are trumpet shaped and appear alternately along the stems. The leaves are long and narrow.This is one of the few summer flowers in our garden that make a pretty display and can grow wildly. Some people call this a "wild gladiolus", but the wild gladiolus is pinkish in colour.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

IXIA - CORN LILY

The genus Ixia consists of a number of cormous plants native to South Africa from the Iridaceae family and Ixioideae subfamily. Some of them are known as the corn lily. Some distinctive traits include sword-like leaves and long wiry stems with star-shaped flowers. It usually prefers well-drained soil. The popular corn lily has specific, not very intense fragrance. It is often visited by many insects such as bees. The Ixia are also used as ornamental plants and cut flowers.

Ixia viridiflora, also known as "Turquoise Ixia", is a tall member of the genus Ixia. It comes from around the Tulbagh in South Africa, Cape Province. It has small corms under the ground. This corn lily is a very rare plant. Its habitats are often destroyed by human influence so the conservation status of this interesting flower is vulnerable and is tending to worse.

The plant gets the name "Turquoise Ixia" from the really spectacular blue-green turquoise colour of the flowers, which is a rare colour for flowers. They are grouped in long inflorescences and are traditionally star-shaped like in most corn lilies. They have a black-purple centre. The ovary is 3-locular. This flower is pollinated by specific scarab beetles known as monkey beetles of the tribe Hopliini. The Turquoise Ixia has very good ornamental traits with its beautiful inflorescences but is very rare in cultivation because of its conservation status.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DIETES SEEDING

Dietes iridioides (African iris, Cape iris, fortnight lily, Morea iris, wild iris, dietes) is an ornamental plant in the Iridaceae family. D. iridioides has white flowers marked with yellow and violet, with six free tepals that are not joined into a tube at their bases. These flowers last only one day. The seedpods of the plant often bend the stalks down to the ground where they have a better chance of propagating new plants. The seedpods contain numerous large brown seeds and they split open to release them.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

YELLOW IRIS

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

SPARAXIS

Sparaxis (Harlequin Flower) is a genus in the family Iridaceae with about 13 species endemic to Cape Province, South Africa. All are perennials that grow during the wet winter season, flower in spring and survive underground as dormant corms over summer. Their conspicuous flowers have six tepals, which in most species are equal in size and shape.

Sparaxis bulbifera (shown here) is the commonest in cultivation, with flowers from cream to yellow or purple. S. grandiflora is a similar but larger plant. Sparaxis tricolor has bright red flowers with yellow and black centres. Many named hybrid cultivars were bred from S. bulbifera and S. tricolor. A group of species with asymmetrical flowers marked in mauve and yellow, including Sparaxis variegata and Sparaxis villosa, was formerly treated as the genus Synnotia. The genus name is derived from the Greek word sparasso, meaning "to tear", and alludes to the shape of the floral bracts.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DIETES - CAPE IRIS

Dietes iridioides (African iris, Cape iris, fortnight lily, Morea iris, wild iris, dietes) is an ornamental plant in the Iridaceae family.D. iridioides has white flowers marked with yellow and violet, with six free tepals that are not joined into a tube at their bases. These flowers last only one day. The seedpods of the plant often bend the stalks down to the ground where they have a better chance of propagating new plants.

The very similar Dietes grandiflora (Large Wild Iris) is a larger plant, which can be distinguished by larger flowers which have dark spots at the base of the outer tepals, and last for three days.These plants were formerly placed in the genus Moraea, but were reclassified because they are rhizomatous.

Grow in full sun or part shade. Although tolerant of tough conditions, Dietes will perform best in well-drained soil, rich in organic material. Fertilise occasionally and water during dry spells. Do not remove flower stems as they continue to flower for several years. Propagate by seed or by division of established clumps.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

GLADIOLUS

Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword) is a genus of perennial bulbous flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae). It is sometimes called the 'Sword lily', but usually by its generic name (plural gladioli, gladioluses, glads). The genus is distributed in Mediterranean Europe, Asia, Tropical Africa and South Africa. The centre of diversity of the genus is located in the Cape Floristic Region, where most species were discovered. The genera Oenostachys, Homoglossum, Anomalesia and Acidanthera, traditionally considered independent entities, currently are included in Gladiolus.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

GLADIOLUS

Gladiolus (from Latin, "little sword", the diminutive of gladius, a sword) is a genus of perennial bulbous flowering plants in the iris family, Iridaceae. It is sometimes called the 'sword lily', but usually by its generic name (plural gladioli, gladioluses, glads). The genus is distributed in Mediterranean Europe, Asia, Tropical Africa and South Africa. The centre of diversity of the genus is located in the Cape Floristic Region, where most species were discovered. The genera Oenostachys, Homoglossum, Anomalesia and Acidanthera, traditionally considered independent entities, currently are included in Gladiolus.

There are 160 species of Gladiolus endemic in southern Africa and 76 in tropical Africa. The flowers of unmodified wild species vary from very small to perhaps 40 mm across, and inflorescences bearing anything from one to several flowers. The spectacular giant flower spikes in commerce are the products of centuries of hybridisation, selection, and perhaps more drastic manipulation.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.