Ixia is a genus in the Iridaceae family with 50 species mainly from the western, southwestern, and southern winter-rainfall areas of the northern, western and eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa. Bill Richardson from Australia has devoted a web page to this genus: 
http://www.angelfire.com/ri/ixia
Ixia corms are planted in autumn in a free-draining potting mix in a sunny position. Most flowers only open on sunny days. Seed is also sown in autumn, the earlier in the season the better, to let them have as long a growing time as possible after germination before drying them off. Ixia will multiply by producing new corms and you can separate these in the dormant summer period. You can store them completely dry and replant the next autumn period. For more information about Ixia see De Vos and Goldblatt, 1999 listed in References.
Ixia dubia is a species with orange or yellow flowers, often with dark centers, and is found on sandstone and granite flats and slopes in the Cape from Piketberg to Caldon. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner. The third picture taken by Roy Herold in the hills above Muizenburg, south of Cape Town, in October 2002 of this plant is probably this species.
The orange flowered version (syn. Ixia frederickii ) was until recently considered to be a separate species found from only two localities in the southwest Cape and blooming in October. The first picture was taken by Kristina Van Wert in the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens collection and the second by Mary Sue Ittner.
Ixia flexuousa is found on clay flats and slopes from the Cape Peninsula to Riversdale and therefore is found in areas with winter rainfall and year round rainfall. It blooms winter to spring and has small pink, mauve, or white flowers, sometimes with deeper pink veins. Photo by Bob Rutemoeller of one blooming April 2003 in Northern California.
Ixia hybrids
The first picture is of an unknown Ixia hybrid growing in the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens bulb collection. Photo by Kristina Van Wert. The second white one was photographed by Mary Sue Ittner in June 2003.
Ixia latifolia grows on flats and mountains in mostly clay soil in Namaqualand and the western and southwestern Cape to the Karoo. It has sword-shaped broad leaves and three to seven pink to purple or mauve flowers, rarely white. The stamens are erect and the filaments well exserted. It is similar to Ixia rapunculoides and Ixia margninifolia.
Ixia latifolia var. latifolia has wide leaves and a straight terminal spike. Photos were taken by Mary Sue Ittner and illustrate the flowers, leaves, and corms. Blooming for the first time from seed February 2006.
Ixia lutea var. lutea flowering in Northern California, grown from seed of Ixia conferta var. ochroleuca now renamed. This is a species of the southwestern Cape. Photo by Bob Rutemoeller
Ixia maculata is found on granite and sandstone flats and slopes in the northwest and southwest Cape. It has orange to yellow flowers with a dark, star-like center. It grows well in the ground in Northern California where it blooms in March or April. The first photo by Mary Sue Ittner is of a garden plant and the next two pictures taken by her and Bob Rutemoeller show plants plants in bloom on the way to Darling, West Coast, September 2006.
Ixia marginifolia is found on stony slopes in renosterveld in the Roggeveld. It is similar to Ixia rapunculoides with pale blue to mauve flowers, but has well exserted filaments. Photographed near Middlepos by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner September 2006.
Ixia monadelpha has flowers that are violet, mauve, pink, apricot or white, rarely yellow, all with a contrasting center which is outlined with a circle of still another color. It flowers in spring and is found on wet sandy flats in the southwestern Cape. This one in violet and looking a little less than perfect after a fair amount of spring rain. Photo by Bob Rutemoeller of a violet one and by Mary Sue Ittner of a mustard colored one.
Ixia paniculata is found on moist sandy slopes and flats in the northwest and the southwest Cape. It has large cream to biscuit flowers that are often reddish on the outside and in the throat. This species is distinguished by having the longest tube in the genus. The photo below was taken by Mary Sue Ittner early June 2003. A stray Triteleia laxa has found its way into the pot.
Ixia polystachya is found on flats, hills and mountain slopes over a wide range of the northwest and southwest Cape. It has pink, mauve, bluish, or white flowers often with a dark center. The flowers below were blooming late May 2003 in Northern California. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
Ixia rapunculoides is found on mostly clay soils in renosterveld or karroid scrub in the Cape Province. It has pale blue, mauve, pink , purple or white flowers with 4 or more branches on the flowering stem. It is one of the first Ixias of the ones I grow in Northern California to bloom which means that it is often in bloom during our wettest period and flower stalks that start out standing are soon bending over after it rains. The photos were taken in January 2004 by Mary Sue Ittner during a brief dry period.
Ixia scillaris grows on stony granite, sandstone and clay flats in the northwest and southwest Cape. It has pink, magenta, mauve or white flowers usually with a small greenish or pink center and exserted stamens with split anthers. The picture below was photographed in South Africa September 2003 by Bob Rutemoeller at Gordon Summerfield 's.
Ixia trifolia has small pink flowers (5-9 per spike) and is found on sandstone slopes in the Roggeveld Escarpment and flowers late winter into spring. The flowers open bright pink, but at least on my plants they fade to light pink as they continue to bloom. The first two photos taken by Mary Sue Ittner are of garden plants. The second two photographs were taken by Cameron McMaster in the Komsberg, an area in the Roggeveld.
Ixia viridiflora is one of the more eagerily sought after species because of its striking turquoise flowers. Reportedly somewhat challenging to keep plants going, it may benefit from occasional summer water. It is found on rocky clay and granite slopes in the western Cape. The first one pictured was grown and photographed by Sheila Burrow in Western Australia. The second photo was taken by Kristina Van Wert, who wrote: "sunk into the succulent garden in the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens these plants bloomed much more vigorously than when grown under cover."
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