Babiana stricta
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Babiana stricta, the baboon flower[1] or blue freesia,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to Cape Province, South Africa and naturalized in Australia.[3]
Description
Growing Script error: No such module "convert". tall by Script error: No such module "convert". broad, it is a cormous perennial with hairy leaves Script error: No such module "convert". long.[4] 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.[5]
The specific epithet stricta means "erect, upright".[6]
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 Script error: No such module "convert". 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.[7]
Babiana stricta is tender (USDA Zones 8–10)[8] and in temperate zones is planted in containers and stored in winter at Script error: No such module "convert"..[9]
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[2]
References
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- ↑ Template:GRIN
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J.C. (2007). A revision of the southern African genus Babiana, Iridaceae: Crocoideae. Strelitzia 18: 1-98. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Van Meuwen
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