Watsonia meriana var. bulbillifera
Common names
bulbil watsonia
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
Flower colours
Red/Pink
Detailed description
Gladiolus-like, clump-forming, summer-green perennial to 2 m tall. Stout corms, 5-7 cm diam, with thick fibrous coat, multiply at ground level. Stem stiffly erect, 2 cm diam. Leaves sword-shaped, 2-5 x 30-60 cm, arising from base, folded, tough, fibrous, light green. Flowers curved, brick-red to salmon pink and 6-8cm long - numerous in a terminal spike. Petals 6, fused. Produces numerous brown cormils in clusters of up to 16 at nodes on the upper stem.
Similar taxa
Formerly known as Watsonia bulbillifera
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Life cycle and dispersal
Seed is not produced. Corms and cormils are spread by machinery, and in dumped garden waste.
Other information
Etymology
watsonia: Named after Sir William Watson, an English botanist (1715 – 1787)