Tigridia is a genus of about 30 species mainly from Mexico and Guatemala in the Iridaceae family. They produce a succession of short lived flowers which are usually in bright colours. The rootstock is a tunicated bulb, found from 3 to 15 cm deep in the wild. Bulbs are never found to offset in the wild. Leaves are pleated in a broad fan. The best known species is Tigridia pavonia whose flowers are 10-15cm (4 -6 inches) across in red, orange, yellow or white variously blotched in the centre. They commence growth in spring and generally die back during autumn. This genus was the subject of the topic of the week September 2003. An introduction was furnished by Alberto Castillo. In their 2008 book, The Iris Family: Natural History and Classification, Peter Goldblatt and John Manning included the four species of Rigidella that differed only in having a minute outer segment. They viewed this as merely an adaptation for hummingbird pollination. Also included were one of the species in the genus Colima and the genus Sessilanthera.
Tigridia A – L – Tigridia M – Z
