What bulb is this?

Mariano Saviello mariano_saviello83@yahoo.com.ar
Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:44:10 PDT
Hi Ina and PBS members,
 
As far as I can see, the mysterious bulb in the picture is Sparaxis bulbifera. A recent work of Julio A. Hurrell and Gustavo Delucchi, from the Natural Sciences Faculty of La Plata University; described this among other Iridaceae Ixioideae adventitious in Argentina. The paper includes an abstract for adventive Iridaceae Ixioideae for Argentina: 6 genera and 9 species; descriptions of 5 new adventive species: Freesia alba, F. laxa (Anomatheca cruenta), Gladiolus tristis, Sparaxis bulbifera, and S. tricolor, as well as updated observations of Chasmanthe floribunda, Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora, Gladiolus communis and Watsonia borbonica subsp. ardernei.
In reference with S. bulbifera, it is a South African species, native to the mountains in the southwest of El Cabo (Goldblatt, 1969). In Australia it is described as a weed of difficult eradication (Cooke, 1986). In Argentina it has found growing in Martin Garcia Island since several years. Its common names are “Harlequin” and “Sparaxis” and it is used in ornamental parks and gardens, flowering in spring. It reproduces by seeds and corms quite easily (Bailey, 1922d). In Argentina was introduced by bulbs imported from Holland.
 
Here the link of the article (in Spanish, sorry!): 
http://scielo.org.ar/scielo.php/…
 
My warmest regards from a mild winter afternoon in Buenos Aires,
Mariano


 


      


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