Martha's exotic Backyard in Israel
Dietes bicolor, Iris bicolor, Moraea bicolor,
Yellow Wild Iris, Peacock Flower, Butterfly Iris,
Hebrew: דיאטס דו- גוני

Scientific name:		Dietes bicolor (Steud.) Sweet ex Klatt
Synonym name:		Iris bicolor Lindl., Moraea bicolor Steud.
Common name:		Yellow Wild Iris, Peacock Flower, Butterfly Iris
Hebrew name:		דיאטס דו- גוני
Family:		Iridaceae, Iris Family, אירוסיים

Life form:		Bulb, rhizomatous evergreen perennial
Stems:		Up to 70cm tall
Leaves:		Fan-shaped clumps of narrow, sword-shaped, basal, evergreen leaves
Inflorescence:		Branched flower stalks with large supply of buds
Flowers:		Three cream tepals with dark brown blotches at the bases and three petal-like staminoids that lack blotches
Fruits / pods:		Obovoid capsule
Flowering Period:		Spring and summer
Habitat:		Garden
Distribution:		Throughout the country
Chorotype:		South Africa
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name: Dietes, Greek dis, two or twice, etes, a year; 'for two years'. Some suggested from dis and etes 'a fellow, neighbour, mate, associate', possibly referring to the petals or because this genus resembles both Iris and Moraea (Umberto Quattrocchi). bicolor, two-coloured. The standard author abbreviation Steud. is used to indicate Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel (1783 – 1856), a German physician and an authority on grasses. The standard author abbreviation Sweet is used to indicate Robert Sweet (1783 – 1835), an English botanist, horticulturist and ornithologist. The standard author abbreviation Klatt is used to indicate Friedrich Wilhelm Klatt (1825 – 1897), a German botanist who specialised in the study of African plants. The standard author abbreviation Lindl. is used to indicate John Lindley (1799 – 1865), an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.