| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Perennial, bulbed, cormed, or rhizomed
Stem generally erect
Leaves generally basal (a few cauline), 2-ranked, ± linear, generally grass-like, generally sharply folded along midrib; bases overlapping, sheathing
Inflorescence: spike, raceme, panicle, ± terminal, or flowers solitary; bracts ± like leaf bases, sheathing
Flower generally bisexual, generally radial; hypanthium fused to ovary; perianth parts generally fused into tube above ovary, generally petal-like, in 2 series of 3, outer (sepals) generally ± like inner (petals); stamens 3, generally attached to sepals, filaments fused below into a tube or not; ovary inferior, 3-chambered, placentas generally axile, style 1, each of 3 branches entire or 2-branched or -lobed, petal-like or not, with stigma on under surface instead of at tip
Fruit: capsule, loculicidal
Seeds few–many
Genera in family: 80 genera, ± 1500 species: worldwide, especially Africa; many cultivated (e.g., Iris, Gladiolus, Crocus, Freesia ).
Perennial; corms rounded, coating fibrous
Inflorescence: spike, branched below or not; flowers facing in 2 opposite directions, appearing to be in 1 plane, each subtended by 2 leathery, entire bracts
Flower asymmetric, sessile; perianth funnel-shaped, tube bent, lobes ± equal, oblong or lanceolate; stamens attached to perianth throat; style ± = stamens, branches each 2-lobed
Fruit oblong
Species in genus: ± 60 species: s Africa
Etymology: (Sir William Watson, English botanist-physician, 1715–1787)
| Introduced |
Stem 1–1.5 m
Leaves ± 5–6, < 60 cm, < 6 cm wide; axils with bulblets after flower
Inflorescence 10–15-flowered, ± open
Flower: perianth 6–7 cm, brick-red, tube 4–5 cm, sharply bent, lobes ± 2.5 cm, oblong to obovate. Uncommon, but may be locally abundant
Ecology: Disturbed roadsides, fields, waste places
Elevation: < 50 m.
Bioregional distribution: North Coast
Distribution outside California: native to s Africa
Reproduces by bulblets, can be invasive.