Ixia viridflora

Ixia from the Iridaceae family, named from the Greek Ixos, mistletoe (viscum), birdlime; referring to the viscous sap. It is often referred to as the "Corn Lily" although it is not a lily. The Ixia is closely related to the Freesia. It is a family of over thirty species

Plants with a corm covered with fibrous tunics. Leaves are in two erect ranks, deciduous. Inflorescence is simple or branched in a dense or loose spike. Stems are thin and wiry. The flowers have a long or short perianth tube and more or less equal spreading segments. Fruit is a capsule of small, brown, angled seeds.

The name Ixia is derived from an old Greek name for a plant noted for the variability of its coloring. Several species are commonly known in South Africa as klossies or kalossies, and a few as koring-blommetjies.

The information below is reprinted from a previous article as it is relevant to our current discussion. And you may not have read the previous one.

In 1962 a revision was done by G. J. Lewis in the Journal of South African Botany and in his introduction he states: " This attractive genus of the Iridaceae, endemic to the Cape Province, was introduced into gardens in England and Europe two hundred or more years ago, and the number of illustrations of various species which appeared in botanical and horticultural works of the second half of the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth centuries give evidence of the popularity of these plants during that period"

"Unfortunately, as happened in most genera of the South African Iridaceae, several of the better known species soon became involved in mis-identifications and considerable confusion, much of which has persisted to this day." (1962)

Lewis went on to say: "The need for clarification was expressed as early as 1794 when the editor of Curtis's Botanical Magazine wrote: "we are not acquainted with a tribe of plants which stand more in need of elucidation than those of this genera".

He also stated " According to the modern rules of botanical nomenclature the use of the generic name for this group is not correct as the first two species descibed by Linnaeus were later excluded from the genus, but to avoid further confusion it was agreed at the 1935 International Botanical Congress that the name should be conserved and that the genus be treated as having originated in 1762."

An updated revision has recently been published in 1999 by Miriam de Vos in South Africa and lists some newly discovered species as well as some changes to bring this species list up to date.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic