aunt Eliza, African cornflag, madflower,
Hebrew: כסמנתה רבת-פרחים
| Scientific name: | Chasmanthe floribunda (Salisb.) N. E. Br. | |
| Synonym name: | Antholyza floribunda Salisb., Petamenes floribunda (Salisb.) E.Phillips | |
| English name: | Aunt Eliza, African cornflag, madflower | |
| Hebrew name: | כסמנתה רבת-פרחים, כסמנתה פרחונית | |
| Family: | Iridaceae, Iris family, אירוסיים |
|
| Life form: | Deciduous geophyte; corm flattened-globose | |
| Stems: | Erect 50-120cm high; usually branched | |
| Leaves: | Lance-shaped, with a prominent main vein; 2.5–3.5 cm wide. | |
| Inflorescence: | Pyramidal two-ranked erect spikes | |
| Flowers: | Bracts (9–)13–15 mm long, green flushed red on margins or entirely. Flowers bright to deep orange with lower half of tube paler or yellow, unscented; floral tube trumpet-shaped, slender and spirally twisted below, abruptly expanded above into a wider, cylindrical upper part slightly pouched at the base and 20–25 mm long; tepals unequal, dorsal largest and spoon-shaped, (21–)24–26 × 6.5–8 mm, upper and lower lateral tepals 12–15 mm long, lower median tepal ± 10 mm long. Stamens 3, arching under dorsal tepal, median stamen slightly longer; anthers and pollen purple. | |
| Fruits / pods: | Capsules flattened-globose, 3-lobed; up to 12 seeds per capsule, globose or somewhat angled by pressure, ± 5 mm in diameter, bright orange, coat hard and shiny. | |
| Flowering Period: | January, February, March | |
| Habitat: | Invading natural habitats | |
| Distribution: | Escaped from gardens and becomes naturalized locally | |
| Chorotype: | South Africa | |
| Summer shedding: | Ephemeral |
Derivation of the botanical name: Chasmanthe, Greek chasme, "gaping", and anthos, "flower," alluding to the shape of the flower. floribunda, Latin floribundus, profusely flowered. Antholyza, Greek anthos, "flower"; lyssa "rage," the opened flower looks like the mouth of an angry animal. Petamenes, derivation doubtful, perhaps from the Greek petomai, petamai "to fly, fly abroad" or petamenos "tumbler, ropedancer".
|