''Dietes iridioides'', commonly named African iris, fortnight lily, and morea iris, is a species of plant 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 ...

that is native to

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

Description

This species has sarmentous stems with branches bearing lily- like flowers 6-8 cm (2.3-3.1in) wide, white with yellow central markings. Growing up to 60cm (24in) in height and 30-60cm (12-24in) in spread, it forms dense basal tufts in the shape of an extended fan. Its preferred habitat is in semi-shade under tall, open trees. It has white flowers marked with yellow and violet, 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. These flowers last only for a few days. The

seedpod This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnify ...

s of the plant often bend the stalks down to the ground where they have a better chance of propagating a new generation of plants.

Distribution

''Dietes iridoides'' is widely distributed in Africa, from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

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 ...

Taxonomy

These plants were formerly placed in the genus ''Moraea'', but were reclassified because they are

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

). The name ''D. vegeta'' is commonly misapplied to both ''D. iridioides'' and ''D. grandiflora''.

References

External links

''Dietes iridioides''
photo {{Taxonbar, from=Q2711237 Iridaceae Flora of Africa Flora of South Africa Flora of Kenya Flora of Ethiopia Garden plants Plants described in 1767