unknown bulb, Ixia ?
Mary Sue Ittner (Sat, 16 Apr 2016 08:02:39 PDT)

Hi Christian,
Welcome to the list. I think you are correct that what you are growing
is an Ixia.

One of the challenges of growing and identifying South African Irids is
the names are changing all the time with new species added, old names
being reinstated, new combinations added, and species that once were
known under one name suddenly becoming many species. The SANBI check
list hasn't been updated since 2012 although there is a note saying they
are working on it. So even if you decide to concentrate on a genus and
learn about it, your resource information quickly becomes obsolete. With
each new IBSA Journal Rachel Saunders usually makes a note of new
species and changes and lists them and there are often a lot.

In 2008 in Systematics of the southern African genus Ixia (Iridaceae).
1. The I. rapunculoides complex
Goldblatt and Manning made changes to Ixia rapunculoides. Your Ixia
could be one of the species in this complex. I've also grown some Ixias
from seed labeled Ixia latifolia that resemble your photos as well, but
whether they are correctly identified I don't know. There is a photo on
ISPOT that looks like your photos that is identified as that species,
but an older revision that I have says that species has filaments well
exserted from the perianth tube.

There is another more recent pdf file you can download from Goldblatt
and Manning from 2011:
Systematics of the southern African genus Ixia (Iridaceae). 3. Sections
Hyalis and Morphixia

Both of these have links much too long to go in an email, but you could
search for them on Google and find them. Perhaps they might help in the
identification.

Mary Sue