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Babiana stricta

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Species of flowering plant

Babiana stricta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Babiana
Species: B. stricta
Binomial name
Babiana stricta
(Aiton) Ker Gawl.

Babiana stricta, the baboon flower or blue freesia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to Cape Province, South Africa and naturalized in Australia.

Description

Growing 10–30 cm (4–12 in) tall by 5 cm (2 in) broad, it is a cormous perennial with hairy leaves 4–12 cm (2–5 in) long. The leaves show linear venation. It is a bulb-like plant that produces upright fans of pleated, slightly hairy, and sword-shaped 6 inch leaves. The leaves emerge in mid-winter and are followed by short spikes with blue or purple cup-shaped flowers in the spring. The flowers usually bloom for 3 or 4 weeks, after that, the leaves and flowers die.

The specific epithet stricta means "erect, upright".

Cultivation

There are many hybrids and cultivars with different colored flowers, usually blue or pink with white additions. In mid- to late spring, each flowering stem produces six or more blooms, each to 5 cm (2 in) across. They are grouped in an inflorescence and often have a pleasant lemon scent. The seeds are black with a hard coat, collected in round seed capsules.

Babiana stricta is tender (USDA Zones 8–10) and in temperate zones is planted in containers and stored in winter at 5 °C (41 °F).

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

References

  1. "Babiana stricta". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
  2. ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Babiana stricta". Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  3. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
  5. "Babiana stricta, Baboon Flower, Bulb/Tuber/Rhizome etc.,". www.smgrowers.com. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  6. Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. p. 224. ISBN 9781845337315.
  7. Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J.C. (2007). A revision of the southern African genus Babiana, Iridaceae: Crocoideae. Strelitzia 18: 1-98. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  8. "Hirt's Gardens". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  9. Van Meuwen

External links

Taxon identifiers
Babiana stricta
Gladiolus strictus


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