Ixia maculata
Encyclopedia
Ixia maculata is a species of flowering plant in the iris family
known by the common name spotted African corn lily. It is native to South Africa
, but it is grown widely as an ornamental plant
. It can also be found growing wild as an introduced species
in several areas, including Western Australia
. This perennial flower grows 20 to 70 centimeters tall with an erect, unbranched stem. There are a few twisting basal leaves up to 35 centimeters long. The inflorescence
is a dense, showy spike of up to 12 flowers, usually orange to yellow in color, sometimes with areas of purple or red and often with spots; the coloration in garden plants varies due to breeding.
Iridaceae
The Iris family or Iridaceae is a family of perennial, herbaceous and bulbous plants included in the monocot order Asparagales, taking its name from the genus Iris. Almost worldwide in distribution and one of the most important families in horticulture, it includes more than 2000 species...
known by the common name spotted African corn lily. It is native to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, but it is grown widely as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
. It can also be found growing wild as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
in several areas, including Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. This perennial flower grows 20 to 70 centimeters tall with an erect, unbranched stem. There are a few twisting basal leaves up to 35 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a dense, showy spike of up to 12 flowers, usually orange to yellow in color, sometimes with areas of purple or red and often with spots; the coloration in garden plants varies due to breeding.