Tritonia is a cormous genus in the Iridaceae family from southern Africa. Most of them are in the winter rainfall regions or areas with some rain year round, but there are summer rainfall species too. They occur in a variety of habitats: grassland in summer rainfall areas, renosterveld, karroid scrub, and fynbos in winter rainfall areas. There are 28 species. Tritonia is very similar to Crocosmia and Ixia. Experience from one Northern California gardener who has very wet winters is that many of the species she grows are unhappy with these conditions and when they bloom late spring or early summer the leaves are unattractive and the flowers can be ruined by late rains. They might be happier in dryer climates and/or grown with more protection from the rain. Still in years when the weather suits them they are very attractive and can be grown in the ground. The leaves need to be cut off a ground level after they die back. See de Vos and Goldblatt, 1999 and Manning,Goldblatt, and Snijman, 2002 in References for more information.
Tritonia bakeri has a long slender tube with dark brown veining on the outer side and purple stamens. The flowers are almost regular, cream to creamy yellow or mauvish pink. It grows on rocky sandstone slopes from the Little Karoo to the southeastern Cape. It flowers October-December.
Tritonia crocata is one of the most commonly grown species and one that has been hybridized as well. It has orange to reddish flowers, but without prominent veins. It blooms late spring. It grows on stony clay slopes in the renosterveld in the southern Cape. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner of California grown plants.
The first photo below by Kristina Van Wert is of one in the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens bulb collection. The second photo from Mary Sue Ittner pictured below shows a plant that was received as Tritonia squalida. Since it is orange instead of purple or pink by definition it must be a form of T. crocata.
Tritonia deusta a plant with orange flowers with a yellow star-shaped center and sometimes dark marks on the other tepals is found on clay or granite slopes in renosterveld and grows in the southwest and southern Capes. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner of plants grown from seed in California.
Tritonia disticha is found on mountain slopes in grassland and rock outcrops in the south eastern Cape (summer rainfall area) to Kwa Zulu-Natal. It has sword shaped leaves with a raised midrib and a vein near the margins, bright red, orange, yellow or pink flowers with a yellow blotch on the 3 lower lobes and blooms summer into early fall. The first photograph by Bob Rutemoeller shows one blooming in the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens August 2004 combined nicely with a clump of Agapanthus. The second photo by Mary Sue Ittner illustrates the droopy character of the ones she grows blooming September 2004.
Tritonia dubia has pink to orange flowers with dark veins spirally arranged in dense spikes. It is found on clay slopes in renosterveld and open bush in the southeastern Cape and blooms in early spring. Grown from seed from Silverhill Seed listed as Ixia pumillo, but now correctly identified. The second picture showed plants blooming the next year. This species is the first to bloom for me, often blooming in March months before the other species. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
Tritonia flabellifolia is one of the last species from the winter rainfall areas that blooms in my garden, usually late spring or early summer. This species is found on rocky sandstone and shale slopes in renosterveld or fynbos and has cream flowers with red streaks or red-outlined stripes on the lower tepals. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
These plants were seen blooming in the Little Karoo in September 2003 in a year with above average rainfall in the Montagu garden. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller.
Tritonia florentiae is the earliest flowering Tritonia from the Winter Rainfall Area of South Africa. Flowers from end of May to early September in the Tanqua Karoo. Extremely low growing. Photos by Alan Horstmann.
Tritonia hybrids -- The plants picture below were grown from Kirstenbosch seed labeled Tritonia, mixed colors. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
And although these were supposed to be Tritonia pallida I think they are probably just white hybrids.
Tritonia karooica is a spring flowering plant from dry stony clay flats in the Roggeveld and the Karoo. It has yellow flowers flushed with orange. These two pictures taken by Bob Rutemoeller show plants grown by Jim Holmes and Henry Pauw in South Africa blooming September 2003.
Habitat pictures taken early morning in September 2006 near Middelpos in the Roggeveld by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner
Tritonia lineata grows in grassland in the southeastern Cape. It has creamy white or pale yellow funnel shaped flowers with dark veins. This plants copes with a Mediterranean growing cycle even though it is a summer rainfall species, but I wouldn't say it thrives. When grown with regular summer water it expands rapidly. When grown with a dry summer it merely survives. Photo by Mary Sue Ittner.
Tritonia pallida is a species with cream or white, occasionally pale lilac flowers with a yellowish green median ridge on the lower tepals. It is found on sandstone and clay slopes in the Little Karoo and coastal areas in the Southern Cape. From Rogan Roth, "It grows plentifully in the mountains south of Calitzdorp in the Little Karoo. What I find most interesting about the flower is the prominent yellow crest on each of he lower three tepals". Photo by Rogan Roth.
Tritonia parvula is closely related to Tritonia securigera but is more flaccid. It has reddish to orange flowers. The lower tepals each have a tooth-like yellow callus. It flowers in spring and grows on stony sandstone soils in the Karoo and Southern Cape areas. Photo by Cameron McMaster.
Tritonia securigera , another reddish to orange species with many flowers in a spike all facing to one side from clay slopes in areas that have some rain year round. The first photo by Bob Rutemoeller is of plants grown from seed in California and the next two photos from Mary Sue Ittner shows the plants and corms.
Tritonia squalida is very similar to Tritonia crocata but has pink or mauvish pink to almost white flowers with deeper pink veins and claws with hyaline marginal zones. It has almost regular cup-shaped flowers which make it look very different from many of the other species. The flowers are very beautiful in spite of the ugly species name which refers to the dirty mauve color of herbarium specimens. It is found on limestone outcrops and calcareous sands in the Southern Cape. Photo by Mary Sue Ittner.
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