Tigridia the tiger-flowers or shell flowers, is a genus of bulb

Bulb

A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...

ous or corm

Corm

A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....

ous plants, belonging to the family Iridaceae

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...

. They have large showy flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s and one species, Tigridia pavonia

Tigridia pavonia

Tigridia pavonia is the best-known species from the genus Tigridia. It is included in the Iridaceae family. This famous ornamental plant comes from Mexico. It's very popular among the lovers of interesting flowers. The blooms open early in the morning and are already closed around 5 P.M. when dusk...

, is often cultivated for this. The approximately thirty five species in this family grow in the Western Hemisphere

Western Hemisphere

The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...

, from Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 to Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. The tigridia flower is short lived, each often blooming for only one day, but often several flowers will bloom from the same stalk. Usually they are dormant during the winter dry-season. Its roots are edible and was eaten by the Aztec

Aztec

The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...

s of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 who called it cacomitl and its flower ocēlōxōchitl "Jaguar flower". The genus name means "tiger-like" and alludes to the coloration and spotting of the flowers of the type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 Tigridia pavonia.

Species of Tigridia:

• Tigridia chiapensis
• Tigridia dugesii
• Tigridia durangense
• Tigridia ehrenbergii
• Tigridia hallbergii
• Tigridia mexicana
• Tigridia pavonia
  Tigridia pavonia
  Tigridia pavonia is the best-known species from the genus Tigridia. It is included in the Iridaceae family. This famous ornamental plant comes from Mexico. It's very popular among the lovers of interesting flowers. The blooms open early in the morning and are already closed around 5 P.M. when dusk...
  
  
• Tigridia multiflora
• Tigridia orthantha
• Tigridia vanhouttei
• Tigridia violacea
• Tigridia flammea
• Tigridia immaculata
• Tigridia inusitata
• Tigridia philippiana
• Tigridia huajuapanensis
• Tigridia pasiflora
• Tigridia meleagris
• Tigridia molseediana
• Tigridia alpestris
• Tigridia seleriana
• Tigridia bicolor

External links

• Description of the Tigridia family