Mystery Iridaceae from the former Transvaal, SA

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Sat, 19 May 2007 22:35:33 PDT
Hi,

Following up on Aaron's suggestion I looked at my Transvaal  field guide 
and found this:
Aristea woodii
"An attractive perennial , 400-600 mm high when in flower, with tapering 
leaves and an erect inflorescence of shimmering pale blue, mauve or white 
flowers which are 15-20 mm wide. Each bloom opens in the early morning and 
by noon it has twisted into a tight spiral, becoming inky-blue in colour. 
Flowering time is from December to February. Widely recorded along the 
entire escarpment and foothills, in open grassland or swampy areas."

Field guides never include all possibilities, but the only other irids 
listed are Hesperantha coccinea, a couple of Crocosmias, a number of 
Gladiolus and a couple of Watsonias. None of them are violet blue.

Mary Sue


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