Description
5 seeds Moraea polystachya was described (as Iris polystachya ) by Thunberg, the 'father of Cape botany', in 1782, from a collection he had made in the Eastern Cape 'in the area of the Sundays & Fish Rivers'. The species name polystachya, meaning many-branched, refers to the inflorescence, which differed greatly from the few-flowered species of the Western Cape already known to Thunberg. in a good year, usually in autumn, the large deep blue to violet iris-like flowers appear in eye-catching displays in the arid central interior of southern Africa. The plants are perennial geophytes, the leaves & aerial stems dying back to the large dark-coated corm during the period of dormancy following flowering & seeding. The flowering stem averages about 0.8 m tall although well-grown plants can be much taller. The flowering stem is many-branched at the top, & although each flower lasts only one day, a succession of flowers is produced so that the flowering period may last for six to eight weeks. A very drought tolerant species, long-blooming, vigorous & gets bigger & stronger every year . Moraea polystachya is easy & rewarding to grow. Moraea Polystachya Amazing Blue African Iris Flower 5 Seeds Rare Limited | Id644
