Re: African irises?
- Subject: Re: African irises?
- From: R*@aol.com
- Date: Mon, 4 Mar 96 19:53:45 MST
Tom T.L:
There seems to be some confusion concerning the the genus Moraea and Dietes.
They would appear to be synonyms. In other words, they are the same group
of plants with two names. According to John E. Bryan, BULBS, (Oregon
publication) Volume 1, A-H, p. 161, "Dietes is a native to South Africa, Lord
Howe Island, and Australia. Many authorities include this genus in Moraea
but others separate it because the rootstock is a rhizome, not a corm as in
Moraea. This seems to me a reasonable division and so the genus is listed
here separately. The foliage of these plants is evergreen whereas in Moraea
it is deciduous".
In Neil Odenwald and James Turner's book, IDENTIFICATION, SELECTION AND USE
OF SOUTHERN PLANTS FOR LANDSCAPE DESIGN, (Louisiana publication) p. 163,
Dietes (evergreen/rhizome type) is listed as the correct name with Moraea as
a synonym.
In a Florida landscape book, FLORIDA, MY EDEN by Frederick B. Stresau, p.
275, Moraea is used as the correct name for the evergreen (rhizome) type.
Robert Turley
LaBelle, FL
