Sparaxis

Sparaxis subsp. var.	Harlequin flower
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	Iridaceae > Sparaxis var. ,

Describe genus here...

Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Sparaxis (Greek word referring to the torn or lacerated spathes, a character which distinguishes this genus from Tritonia). Iridaceae. Wand-flower. Bulbs or corms with fibrous coating, the plants suitable for outdoor planting but grown mostly under glass. Stems simple or slightly branched: lvs. few, flat, sword-like or broadly linear, erect or falcate: spathes few, remote or sometimes solitary, broad-striate or frequently marked with short brown lines: fls. 1 to a spathe, sessile, rather large, yellow; perianth-tube short and slender, 6-lobed; ovary 3-celled: caps. membranaceous, ovoid or oblong, included in the spathe.—About 3 species, Cape Colony, S. Afr. Sparaxis is a group of spring-blooming Cape bulbs of the Ixia tribe, with spikes of 6-petaled, more or less funnel-shaped fls. 1-2 in. across and exhibiting an extraordinary range of color and throat - markings. These plants are less popular than ixias, which they much resemble. The plants are dwarfer and more compact than ixias, usually 6-12 in. high, the spikes are shorter and fewer-fld., and the blossoms are sometimes larger. Sparaxis is essentially distinguished from Ixia and other allied genera by the subregular perianth, unilateral and arcuate stamens, and scarious lacerated spathe-valves. Although a few plants of sparaxis are occasionally cultivated in America by bulb-fanciers, one may search through many American catalogues without finding them listed. The Dutch bulb-growers offer twenty-five distinct kinds, which is perhaps a quarter of the number of varieties of ixias in cultivation. According to J. G. Baker, there is "only one species in a broad sense, varying indefinitely in the size and coloring of the flowers." For practical purposes Baker recognizes the three species given below; of these the most important and variable is S. tricolor. Sparaxis pulcherrima of the Dutch trade is properly Dierama pulcherrima, Baker. This grows as much as 6 feet high and has pendulous bright blood-purple flowers but apparently with pale rose and perhaps other varieties (also a white variety). It is distinguished by its pendulous flowers with regular perianth, simple style-branches, equilateral stamens, and large bracts which are not laciniate. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Species

about 13 species^wp

• Sparaxis bulbifera is the commonest in cultivation, with flowers from cream to yellow or purple. ^wp
• Sparaxis fragrans‎
• Sparaxis grandiflora is a similar to S. bulbifera but larger plant. ^wp
• Sparaxis tricolor has bright red flowers with yellow and black centres. ^wp
• Sparaxis variegata ^wp

Many named hybrid cultivars were bred from S. bulbifera and S. tricolor. ^wp

A group of species with asymmetrical flowers marked in mauve and yellow, including Sparaxis variegata and Sparaxis villosa, was formerly treated as the genus Synnotia.^wp

Gallery

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  Sparaxis plants
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  Sparaxis plants
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  photo 3

External links

• w:Sparaxis. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Sparaxis QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)