Class
Order
Family
Genus
Classification
Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Tritonia crocata (L.) Ker Gawl., Bot. Mag. 16: 2 pp after Pl. 581 (1802)
Synonymy:
- ≡ Ixia crocata L., Sp. Pl., ed. 2. 52 (1762)
Vernacular Name(s):
Blazing star; Rooikalkoentije
Description
Tufted, to 60 cm high. Corm ± 2.5 cm diam., tunic of very fine matted fibres. Leaves < stems, to 1.5 cm wide, curved, narrow- to broad-ensiform. Inflorescence simple or branched, ¼-⅔ plant-height; spathe-valves 1–1.5 cm long, green with brown dentate tips, later straw-coloured below. Flowers to 15, ± 5 cm long, ± 5 cm diam., bright orange with orange veins, bright pink, or reddish with purplish veins; tube narrow-cylindrical below, funnel-shaped above; lobes ± twice length of tube, spreading. Capsule not seen.
[From: Healy and Edgar (1980) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 3.]
Biostatus
Exotic
Phenology
Flowering: (Oct.) –Nov.–Dec.
Bibliography
Hobbs, J.; Hatch, T. 1994: Bulbs for New Zealand Gardens. Godwit Press, Auckland.
Ker Gawler, J.B. 1802: Tritonia squalida. Sweet-scented Tritonia. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 16: Pl. 581–next 2 pp.
Linnaeus, C. 1762–1763: Species Plantarum. Edition 2. Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm.
