''Dietes'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

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 of 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 ...

, first described as a genus in 1866. Common names include wood iris, fortnight lily, African iris, Japanese iris and butterfly iris, each of which may be used differently in different regions for one or more of the six

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

within the genus. Most species are native to southern and central

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 ...

, with one (''

Dietes robinsoniana ''Dietes robinsoniana'', the Lord Howe wedding lily, is found naturally only on Lord Howe Island. It grows on cliff faces, often in exposed situations. Found also on forest margins and the tops of Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird and behind the bea ...

'') native to

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

off the coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. A few species have become naturalized in other parts of the world.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>

Taxonomy

These plants were formerly placed in the genus ''

Moraea ''Moraea'', the Cape tulips, is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1758. The group is widespread across Africa, the Mediterranean, and central and southwestern Asia. The genus name is a tribute to the English ...

'', but were reclassified because they are

. Like ''Moraea'', they differ from ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

'' in having flowers with six free

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 that are not joined into a tube at their bases. Some references mention the species ''Dietes vegeta'' or ''D. vegeta variegata'', springing from some confusion with ''

Moraea vegata ''Moraea'', the Cape tulips, is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1758. The group is widespread across Africa, the Mediterranean, and central and southwestern Asia. The genus name is a tribute to the English ...

'' (which grows from 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 ' ...

, not a rhizome). The name ''D. vegeta'' is commonly misapplied to both ''D. grandiflora'' or ''D. iridioides.'' The genus name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words ''di-'', meaning "two", and ''etes'', meaning "affinities". ; Species * ''

Dietes bicolor ''Dietes bicolor'', the African iris, fortnight lily or yellow wild iris, is a clump-forming rhizomatous perennial plant with long sword-like evergreen pale green leaves, growing from multiple fans at the base of the clump. This species belongs t ...

'' (Steud.) Sweet ex Klatt (yellow wild iris, peacock flower, butterfly iris) - Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal * ''

Dietes butcheriana ''Dietes'' is a genus of rhizomatous plants of the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866. Common names include wood iris, fortnight lily, African iris, Japanese iris and butterfly iris, each of which may be used differently in diff ...

'' Gerstner Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal * ''

Dietes flavida ''Dietes'' is a genus of rhizomatous plants of the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866. Common names include wood iris, fortnight lily, African iris, Japanese iris and butterfly iris, each of which may be used differently in diff ...

'' Oberm. - South Africa, Eswatini * ''

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 ...

'' N.E.Br. (wild iris, large wild iris, fairy iris) - Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal; naturalized in St. Helena, Mauritius, Rodrigues Island in Indian Ocean, Western Australia * ''

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 ...

'' (L.) Sweet ex Klatt (wild iris, African iris, Cape iris, fortnight lily, morea iris) - widespread from Ethiopia to Cape Province; naturalized in Madeira, Mauritius, Réunion, Hawaii, Jamaica * ''

'' (F.Muell.) Klatt (wedding lily) - Lord Howe Island (part of New South Wales) ''Dietes bicolor'' has cream or yellow flowers. ''D. grandiflora'' and ''D. iridioides'' both have white flowers marked with yellow and violet, and appear similar in photographs, but they are quite different: those of ''grandiflora'' are much larger, last three days, and have dark spots at the base of the outer tepals, while those of ''iridioides'' are small, last only one day, and lack the spots. ''D. grandiflora'' is also a larger plant overall. Image:Olhodetigre.jpg, ''Dietes bicolor'' Image:Dietes iridioides 001.jpg, ''Dietes iridioides'' Image:Dietes robinsoniana qtl1.jpg, ''Dietes robinsoniana'' Dietes bicolor - flower view 02.jpg, ''Dietes bicolor''

References

External links

* *

Bibliography

Floridata: Dietes
* Goldblatt, P. (1981) Systematics, physiology and evolution of ''Dietes'' (Iridaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 68: 132–153. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2703599 Iridaceae genera Iridaceae