Watsonia

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:32:15 PDT
Hi,

I've spent a lot of time upgrading the Watsonia wiki page adding photos and 
information of many new species which meant I had to split it up as it was 
getting too long. Watsonia is a genus in the Iridaceae family that grows in 
both winter and summer rainfall areas of southern Africa. Some of the 
species are quite tall, but there are shorter species too. Some are 
evergreen and others deciduous. Some only bloom well in the wild after a 
fire and then are most spectacular, flowering in mass. In my garden the 
species I grow don't flower every year.  Watsonia meriana var. bulbillifera 
is a worrisome taxa in climates that suit it as it spreads dramatically 
replacing native plants and not looking very attractive most of the year 
(my bias). Other species or hybrids naturalize where I live in coastal 
Northern California with little care, but don't spread so much and are more 
attractive. I think many of the species are quite similar and so it is 
frequently difficult to identify them from a picture where you can't 
measure the tube or other parts of the flower, often can't see the leaves 
or the bracts which are often important in identification. Hope you enjoy 
what I have created.

http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… 


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