Fynbos Friday 29: Tritoniopsis lata

One massive common denominator in the Iris family is that all are bulbs and would have formed  a major part of the Khoi-San diet, or bossie kos.  Another common feature is that after a fire has come through an area, the prolific growth and the successful flowering of species is amazing.   That’s pretty much where common features end.  They are a group of plants which second to Erica’s cause me the greatest confusion in terms of trying to identify.  Often I will just end up stopping trying to go through reference books and just enjoy the photos.

This is one such amazing Iris.  The tritoniopsis lata emerges from a wiry neck of fibres at ground level.  What always intrigues me when I see a geophyte or bulb and it is not in flower, it almost impossible to identify, unless you know precisely what to look for.  This week’s Fynbos Friday is no different, for weeks before this particular beauty decided to grace us with her presence, it was painstaking to have to walk pretty much every day to see what would flower and have to wait very patiently for it to do just that.   I would not have been a good fisherman.

And when it does, as I am sure you will agree it is the most spectacular display of beauty yet..so similar to the Fynbos Friday 22, Tritoniopsis triticea; yet so different.

Heres a smattering from Plantzafrica on the family of tritoniopsis and ill leave it right there and let you appreciate the beauty of this week’s stunning Fynbos Friday.

Derivation of name and historical aspects
Tritoniopsis means resembling the genus Tritonia and triticea means of wheat. Tritoniopsis belongs in the Iridaceae, commonly known as the iris family. There are 29 species in this genus and they are all endemic to the Cape Floral Kingdom.