The genus Moraea can be divided into five groups: Galaxia, Gynandriris, Hexaglottis, Homeria, and Moraea.
Moraea group species U-Z are found on this wiki page.
The other species in the Moraea group are listed alphabetically on these wiki pages: Moraea group A – Moraea group B – Moraea group C-E – Moraea group F – Moraea group G-I – Moraea group J-M – Moraea group N-R – Moraea group S – Moraea group T
Moraea index lists all the species in all five groups alphabetically.
Moraea unguiculata is found on shale slopes in the winter rainfall area. Its range extends into the Eastern Cape where it occurs in drier open thicket environments and Karoo hills. The flower on this one is smaller than many of the others pictured on this page. Photos below by Bob Rutemoeller and Bob Werra.
More photos from Cameron McMaster.
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Moraea vegeta is a short species from the southwestern Cape where it is found on damp clay or granite slopes and flats. It can be grown in the ground in Northern California and in the second photo it is shown growing in our driveway. It has buff to dull purple-brown short lived flowers. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner, Bob Rutemoeller, and Alan Horstmann.
Growing at Wave Hill and labeled Moraea gawleri but really Moraea vegeta which can be shown by the leaves in the background and the reason for the name. Photo by Arnold Trachtenberg.
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Flowering on Lions Head in the southwestern Cape, September 2006. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner
and Bob Rutemoeller.
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Moraea vespertina This species has fairly large white flowers that open around 6.00pm and close around 8.00pm, and they have a pure scent of lemons. Photos by Dirk Wallace
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Moraea villosa is found on stony granite and clay slopes and flats in the winter rainfall area of western South Africa. It can be purple, lilac, sometimes pink or orange or even cream or white with yellow nectar guides on the outer tepals outlined in broad bands of dark color. Flowering in Northern California and grown from seed. Notice all the different variations. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller
Photos by Mary Sue Ittner of more variations.
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Mary Wise has photographed the first one below from her Australian garden, another with striking colors and Jana Ulmer the second one. This third photo below taken by Bob Rutemoeller shows one growing in Gordon Summerfield's collection that is a darker purple. The fourth photo was taken by Alan Horstmann and the last by Bob Werra.
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This first one pictured below almost looks like M. aristata, which when it first bloomed I thought it was. I love the appearance and color of the second one. It looked different than all my other M. villosa. Photos taken March 2004 by Lee Poulsen.
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Moraea villosa ssp. elandsmontana grows in a very limited area of the Western Cape. It has stems that are usually unbranched and flowers that are bright orange with nectar guides edged with navy blue. Although it may resemble Moraea tulbaghensis in color, it differs by having large style branches with prominent crests and short anthers that reach only to the base of the stigma lobes. This plant was seen in Kirstenbosch growing in the ground August 2006 and was photographed by Mary Sue Ittner and Bob Rutemoeller.
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Moraea viscaria is found on the coastal areas of the southwestern cape between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas. It grows on sandy or stony flats and slopes. It has white, fragrant small flowers. It blooms spring to summer and has fugacious flowers that open late afternoon and fade by early evening. Photo by Cameron McMaster.
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Moraea worcesterensis is found on rocky slopes and flats on low hills near Worcester. It has a single leaf and purple flowers with pale diamond-shaped markings on the tepals and blooms in spring. Photo by Alan Horstmann.
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Moraea 'Zoe' was grown and photographed by Bill Dijk in New Zealand. He has named this plant Moraea villosa 'Zoe', but it has some characteristics that are closer to Moraea aristata so could be a hybrid between the two species and perhaps should just be known by the cultivar name. A third photograph was taken by Mary Sue Ittner who got her corms from Bill.
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Galaxia – Gynandriris – Hexaglottis – Homeria A-J – Homeria K-Z – Moraea group A – Moraea group B – Moraea group C-E – Moraea group F – Moraea group G-I – Moraea group J-M – Moraea group N-R – Moraea group S – Moraea group T – Moraea index
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