Say hello to Moraea anastasia

[Michael Mace]

I ran across this story today. A pine plantation was cut down in South Africa in summer 2024. In the fall, a previously undescribed species of Moraea was spotted in bloom where the pines had been. Presumably the corms had survived for decades under the pines.

The plants in South Africa are amazingly diverse.

You can read about it here.

(https://groundup.org.za/media/_versions/images/Third%20Party/iris1-briandupreez-20250304_extra_large.jpg)

[CG100]

I had no time for quite some while until 3-4 years ago and the greenhouses were totally ignored for well in excess of 10 years.
I finally got around to clearing more of the debris on lower shelves where pots had been dry all that time. A pot of Cyanella bulbs looked fine, but took two cycles to make any green growth.
They will have seen over 40C numerous times while dry over the years as there was no ventilation.

[Robert_Parks]

Doing what a number of California native geophytes do, putting out a fragile leaf every year or few in the deep shade to maintain the bulb, then burst into a frenzy of growth and flowering after a fire...logging a plantation would have much the same effect, especially if the slash piles are burned on site.