Crocoideae is one of the major subfamilies in the family

Iridaceae Iridaceae is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c. 2244 species worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016). It include ...

. It contains

plants Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

which are widely distributed in the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

, mainly in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, but there are species like some members of the genera ''

Romulea ''Romulea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1772. It is distributed in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa.Gladiolus ''Gladiolus'' (from Latin, the diminutive of ''gladius'', a sword) is a genus of perennial cormous flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae). It is sometimes called the 'sword lily', but is usually called by its generic name (plural ''g ...

'' which are native to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. Some examples are ''

Romulea bulbocodium ''Romulea bulbocodium'' is one of the best-known species from the genus '' Romulea''. The plant, a member of the family Iridaceae, is native to the Mediterranean region (southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East) and Sudan.

'', ''

Romulea columnae ''Romulea columnae'', the sand crocus, is a herbaceous perennial in the family Iridaceae. It is a small plant, with thin narrow leaves, and small scape which has small pink, pale purple or violet pointed flowers with darker veining and a gold or ...

'' and ''

Gladiolus italicus ''Gladiolus italicus'' is a species of gladiolus known by the common names Italian gladiolus, field gladiolus, and common sword-lily. It is native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, but it is well known on other continents where it is a common ...

''. Like the rest of

, the members of the subfamily have the typical sword-shaped leaves. The rootstock is usually a

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

. The blooms which sometimes have scent are collected in

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

and contain six

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s. The

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

is produced mostly in the base of the bloom from the glands of the ovary, which is where the flower forms a tube-like end. In some species there is no such end and the plant only provides pollen to pollinating insects. The ovary is 3-locular and many-seeded, the appearance of the testa varying widely between the different genera: sometimes fine and delicate, as in the case of ''

Gladiolus ''Gladiolus'' (from Latin, the diminutive of ''gladius'', a sword) is a genus of perennial cormous flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae). It is sometimes called the 'sword lily', but is usually called by its generic name (plural ''g ...

'' and at others black and hard, as in the case of ''

Babiana ''Babiana'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book'', 1995:606–607 is a genus of geophytes in the family Iridaceae with 93 recognized species . The leaves consist of a stalk and a blade that are at an angle to each other. The leaf blades are entire, la ...

''. The shape of the seed is often pellet-like and may also be globular, discoid or semi-discoid. Many genera of this group furnish species numbered among the most familiar ornamental

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

s to be grown in the open garden or in containers, some good examples being ''

Freesia ''Freesia'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866 by Christian Friedrich Ecklon (1886) and named after the German botanist and medical practitioner, Friedrich Freese (1795 ...

'', ''

Ixia ''Ixia'' is a genus of cormous plants native to South Africa from the family Iridaceae. Some of them are known as the corn lily. Some distinctive traits include sword-like leaves and long wiry stems with star-shaped flowers. It usually prefers w ...

'', ''

Crocosmia ''Crocosmia'' (;), also known as montbretia, is a small genus of flowering plants in the iris family, Iridaceae. It is native to the grasslands of southern and eastern Africa, ranging from South Africa to Sudan. One species is endemic to Madaga ...

'' and ''

''.

Taxonomy

;Tribe Tritoniopsideae * '' Tritoniopsis'' ;Tribe Watsonieae * '' Cyanixia'' * ''

Lapeirousia ''Lapeirousia'' is a genus in the plant family Iridaceae. It is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, about a third of the species occurring in fynbos. Origin of the generic name The genus ''Lapeirousia'' was described by Pierre André Pourret in Mé ...

'' * ''

Micranthus ''Micranthus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. The entire genus is endemic to Cape Province in South Africa. The genus name is derived from the Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, ...

'' * '' Pillansia'' * ''

Savannosiphon ''Savannosiphon'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a new species in 1980. It contains only one known species, ''Savannosiphon euryphylla'', native to tropical Africa (Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, ...

'' * '' Thereianthus'' * '' Watsonia'' * '' Zygotritonia'' ;Tribe Gladioleae * ''

'' * '' Melasphaerula'' ;Tribe Freesieae * ''

'' * '' Devia'' * ''

'' * '' Xenoscapa'' ;Tribe Ixieae * ''

Afrocrocus ''Afrocrocus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. This is a monotypic genus, containing the single species ''Afrocrocus unifolius''. The genus name alludes to the African distribution and its resemblance to the genus ''Crocus ...

'' * ''

Chasmanthe ''Chasmanthe'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described in 1932. It is endemic to Cape Province in South Africa. It is widely grown as an ornamental and naturalized in various locations. In their native habitat the ...

'' * ''

Crocus ''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain undergro ...

'' * '' Dierama'' * '' Duthiastrum'' * ''

Geissorhiza ''Geissorhiza'' is a genus with 103 species described to date of deciduous perennial flowering plants in the family Iridaceae first described as a genus in 1803. The entire genus is endemic to Cape Province of western South Africa. The genus name ...

'' * ''

Hesperantha ''Hesperantha'' is a genus of cormous flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. The genus name is derived from the Greek words ''hesperos'', meaning "evening", and ''anthos'', meaning "flower". There are approximately 79 species, mostly native t ...

'' * ''

'' * '' Radinosiphon'' * ''

Romulea ''Romulea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1772. It is distributed in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa.Sparaxis ''Sparaxis'' is a genus of flowering plants called the harlequin flowers. It belongs to the iris family Iridaceae with about 13 species endemic to Cape Province, South Africa. All are perennials that grow during the wet winter season, flower in ...

'' * ''

Syringodea ''Syringodea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1873. The entire genus is endemic to South Africa.Vos de, M.P. (1983). Flora of Southern Africa 7(2; 2): i-ix, 1-76. Botanical Research Institute ...

'' * '' Tritonia''

References

Iridaceae Asparagales subfamilies {{Iridaceae-stub