Mystery Moraea
Mary Sue Ittner (Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:01:02 PST)

Hi Diane,

I think your Mystery Moraea is Moraea setifolia (which was Gynandriris
setifolia). This would explain why Bob Werra couldn't identify it. It's the
Moraea Moraea subgroup that he really loves, not the interlopers. It is
found in the area you saw it. The flowers are only open for part of the day
so as long as you took this picture early afternoon that would be my guess
for its identity. Back when I was still working for pay and was first
growing bulbs I used to grow this one in a tiny pot. How it could grow in
that size of a pot I don't know, but I didn't know any better. If I wanted
to see if bloom I had to take it with me which was easy since the pot was
small. I could tell the days it was going to bloom in the morning so I'd
pack it with me and usually about noon to one it would open and would be
gone by 4 until the next time it sent up another bloom. In the beginning
there was usually just one open at a time, but as the season progressed it
branched and some days there would be multiple blooms.

Mary Sue