Tritonia (plant)

Tritonia (flame freesia) is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family first described as a genus in 1802. They are naturally distributed across southern Africa, with a high concentration of species in Cape Province of western South Africa.[1] The genus is closely related to the genus Ixia.

Tritonia
Tritonia crocata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Crocoideae
Tribe: Croceae
Genus: Tritonia
Ker Gawl.
Type species
Tritonia squalida
(Aiton) Ker Gawl.
Synonyms[1]
  • Waitzia Rchb.
  • Montbretia DC.
  • Belendenia Raf.
  • Tritonixia Klatt
  • Montbretiopsis L.Bolus

Tritonia are small bulbous plants up to 80 cm, that appear in great numbers in spring. The leaves are fan-shaped. The flowers are shades of yellow, orange or brown, sweet-smelling, and give off a very strong fragrance, especially at night. They are not grazed.[2]

The genus name is derived from the Latin word triton, meaning "weathervane", and alludes to the apparently random arrangement of the stamens in some species.[3]

Cultivation

Hardiness: Zones 8–11

Species[1]
  • Tritonia atrorubens L.Bolus - Cape Province
  • Tritonia bakeri Klatt - Cape Province
  • Tritonia cedarmontana Goldblatt & J.C.Manning - Cedarberg in Cape Province
  • Tritonia chrysantha Fourc. - Cape Province
  • Tritonia cooperi (Baker) Klatt - Cape Province
  • Tritonia crocata (L.) Ker Gawl. - Cape Province
  • Tritonia delpierrei M.P.de Vos - Cape Province
  • Tritonia deusta (Aiton) Ker Gawl. - Cape Province
  • Tritonia disticha (Klatt) Baker - South Africa, Swaziland
  • Tritonia drakensbergensis M.P.de Vos - Cape Province
  • Tritonia dubia Eckl. ex Klatt - Cape Province
  • Tritonia flabellifolia (D.Delaroche) G.J.Lewis - Cape Province
  • Tritonia florentiae (Marloth) Goldblatt - Cape Province
  • Tritonia gladiolaris (Lam.) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning - South Africa, Lesotho; naturalized in Australia
  • Tritonia kamisbergensis Klatt - Cape Province
  • Tritonia karooica M.P.de Vos - Cape Province
  • Tritonia lancea (Thunb.) N.E.Br. - Cape Province
  • Tritonia laxifolia (Klatt) Baker - South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania
  • Tritonia linearifolia Goldblatt & J.C.Manning - Cape Province
  • Tritonia marlothii M.P.de Vos - Cape Province
  • Tritonia moggii Oberm. - Mozambique
  • Tritonia nelsonii Baker - Botswana, Northern Province of South Africa
  • Tritonia pallida Ker Gawl. - Cape Province
  • Tritonia parvula N.E.Br. - Cape Province
  • Tritonia securigera (Aiton) Ker Gawl. - Cape Province
  • Tritonia squalida (Aiton) Ker Gawl. - Cape Province; naturalized in Australia
  • Tritonia tugwelliae L.Bolus - Cape Province
  • Tritonia undulata (Burm.f.) Baker - Cape Province

References
  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Innes, C. (1985). The World of Iridaceae: 1-407. Holly Gare International Ltd., Ashington
  3. Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 186–89. ISBN 0-88192-897-6.


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