Hi Pieter, My immediate thought when reading your description is Aristea. Maybe this will direct you to the species. Did the spent flowers curl up into a tight coil? Marilyn Daly -----Original Message----- From: aquaflorasa@telkomsa.net To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org Sent: Sat, 19 May 2007 5:20 PM Subject: [pbs] Mystery Iridaceae from the former Transvaal, SA Dear group, I am hoping someone can help me identify a species of Iridaceae I have sighted growing on the Magaliesberg Mountains in the former Transvaal province of South Africa (now Gauteng). Unfortunately I do not have a photo, but I hope my description will be sufficient to at least point me to the right genus. The plants were growing on a north facing slope, in crevices on a rock sheet which has some water seepage after rains. The plants were in flower during January (mid summer) and seeds where ripe by April. The flowers were approximately 2 cm in diameter and of a lilac-blue colour. The most striking feature was the multiple branched inflorescences which were about 30 cm tall and were in flower for 2-3 weeks. I can not recall how the leaves looked, but they were not longer than the inflorescence at time of flowering. There was a whole colony of them and not just a few scattered individuals. My first thought was Moraea, but I can't find anything similar in, The Moraea's of Southern Africa, by Goldblatt. Any help, advice, suggestions etc. are most welcome! Thanks! Pieter van der Walt South Africa _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.