Tigridia

Tigridia
For the butterfly genus, see Tigridia acesta.
Tigridia
Tigridia pavonia in Mexico
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Iridoideae
Tribe: Tigridieae
Genus: Tigridia
Juss.
Type species
Tigridia pavonia
(Linnaeus fil.) de Candolle
Species

See text.

Tigridia (play /taɪˈɡrɪdiə/),[1] the tiger-flowers or shell flowers, is a genus of bulbous or cormous plants, belonging to the family Iridaceae. They have large showy flowers and one species, Tigridia pavonia, is often cultivated for this. The approximately thirty five species in this family grow in the Western Hemisphere, from Mexico to Chile. The tigridia flower is short lived, each often blooming for only one day, but often several flowers will bloom from the same stalk. Usually they are dormant during the winter dry-season. Its roots are edible and was eaten by the Aztecs of Mexico who called it cacomitl and its flower ocēlōxōchitl "Jaguar flower". The genus name means "tiger-like" and alludes to the coloration and spotting of the flowers of the type species Tigridia pavonia.[2]

Species of Tigridia:

  • Tigridia chiapensis
  • Tigridia dugesii
  • Tigridia durangense
  • Tigridia ehrenbergii
  • Tigridia hallbergii
  • Tigridia mexicana
  • Tigridia pavonia
  • Tigridia multiflora
  • Tigridia orthantha
  • Tigridia vanhouttei
  • Tigridia violacea
  • Tigridia flammea
  • Tigridia immaculata
  • Tigridia inusitata
  • Tigridia philippiana
  • Tigridia huajuapanensis
  • Tigridia pasiflora
  • Tigridia meleagris
  • Tigridia molseediana
  • Tigridia alpestris
  • Tigridia seleriana
  • Tigridia bicolor

References

  1. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  2. ^ Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 253–56. ISBN 0-88192-897-6. 

External links


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