Moraea pseudospicata Goldblatt

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Iridaceae > Moraea

Characteristics

Plants slender, 150-400 mm high, enclosed by collar of fibres around base. Corm 30-50 mm diam., but live corm ± 10 mm diam.; tunics of tough, blackish fibres. Stem simple or with 1 or 2 long branches from near base, bearing several sessile rhipidia at upper nodes, sheathing leaves dry, brown, up to 25 mm long, darker on veins. Foliage leaf solitary, basal, slender, apparently terete but narrowly grooved on adaxial surface with margins tightly inrolled, straight or weakly twisted. Rhipidial spathes subequal, dry and straw-coloured at anthesis, also darker on veins, 20-25 mm long. Flowers fugaceous, blue-mauve, tepal limbs of both whorls with deep yellow nectar guides at bases, claws forming a shallow cup around base of filament column, limbs spreading; tepals lanceolate, outer 15-17 x ± 3.5 mm, claw ± 2 mm, inner tepals ± 1 mm shorter than outer. Filaments 4.0-6.5 mm long, united entirely or free in upper 2/3 but contiguous, forming a slender, smooth cylindric column; anthers 2.0-4.5 mm long, erect and contiguous, yellow; pollen yellow. Ovary globose, ± 2 mm long; style dividing ± opposite middle of anthers, branches vestigial, narrow, ascending, 1.0-1.5 mm long, stigmatic apically, initially concealed by anthers, reaching to upper 1/3 or slightly exceeding anther apices; crests lacking. Capsules globose, 2-4 mm diam., membranous and semi-transparent, fragmenting irregularly. Seeds dark brown, angular, ± 1 mm long.
More
Cormous geophyte, 250-500 mm tall, often branched, lateral flower clusters sessile. Leaf 1, terete, often dry at flowering. Flowers enclosed in dry spathes, blue-mauve, tepals subequal, claws short, forming a shallow cup, limbs spreading, style branches reduced, hidden by the anthers.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.2 - 0.45
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture 1-2
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 12 - 15
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Moraea pseudospicata world distribution map, present in South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:929953-1
WFO ID wfo-0000785172
COL ID 6RPKG
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Moraea pseudospicata