Dietes
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 Dietes grandiflora
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Dietes is a genus of rhizomatous plants of the family Iridaceae. Common names include Fortnight lily, African iris, Morea or Moraea iris, Japanese iris and Butterfly iris, each of which may be used differently in different regions for one or more of the four species within the genus.
Most species are native to southern Africa, with one {D. robinsoniana) native to Lord Howe Island off the coast of Australia.
Species include:
- Dietes bicolor (Yellow Wild Iris, Peacock Flower, Butterfly Iris)
- Dietes grandiflora (Wild Iris, Large Wild Iris, Fairy Iris)
- Dietes iridioides (Wild Iris, African Iris, Cape Iris, Fortnight Lily, Morea Iris)
- Dietes robinsoniana (Wedding Lily)
D. bicolor has cream or yellow flowers.
D. grandiflora and D. iridoides 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 iridoides are small, last only one day, and lack the spots. D. grandiflora is also a larger plant overall.
[edit] Taxonomic history
These plants were formerly placed in the genus Moraea, but were reclassified because they are rhizomatous. Like Moraea, they differ from Iris in having flowers with six free tepals 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 (which grows from a corm, not a rhizome). The name D. vegeta is commonly misapplied to D. grandiflora or D. iridiodes.
 D. bicolor |
 D. grandiflora |
 D. iridiodes |
[edit] References
- Floridata: Dietes
- Goldblatt, P. (1981) Systematics, physiology and evolution of Dietes (Iridaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 68: 132-153.
