''Dietes bicolor'', the African iris, fortnight lily or yellow wild iris, is a clump-forming

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

with long sword-like

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

pale green leaves, growing from multiple fans at the base of the clump. This species belongs to the iris 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 can form large clumps if left undisturbed for years. It is commonly cultivated in its native

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, where it is often used in public gardens, beautification of commercial premises and along roadsides. It is also cultivated in mild

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

zones elsewhere. The blooms, appearing in spring and summer, are pale yellow with three dark purple spots, which may be so dark as to appear black. Each is surrounded by an orange outline. They are followed by a capsule that may bend the flower stalks to the ground. Ripe seeds (dark brown in colour) are dispersed when the capsule dries and splits. The leaves of ''Dietes bicolor'' are narrower than those of ''

Dietes grandiflora ''Dietes grandiflora'', the large wild iris, African iris or fairy iris, is a rhizomatous perennial plant of the family Iridaceae with long, rigid, sword-like green leaves. This species is common in horticulture in its native South Africa, where ...

'' and ''

Dietes iridioides ''Dietes iridioides'', commonly named African iris, fortnight lily, and morea iris, is a species of plant in the family Iridaceae that is native to Southern Africa. Description This species has sarmentous stems with branches bearing lily- like ...

'', and tend to arch more.

Cultivation

Plants prefer dappled-shade to full sun where they will flower in profusion, though they will grow in shaded areas (with an accompanying loss of flower production). This species, as well as ''Dietes grandiflora'', is very drought tolerant.

Gallery

Dietes bicolor - flower view 01.jpg, Flower Dietes bicolor - flower view 03.jpg, Bud Dietes bicolor flower.jpg, White variant

References

* Iridaceae Garden plants of Southern Africa Flora of Southern Africa Plants described in 1841 {{Iridaceae-stub