Genus of flowering plants
Sparaxis is a genus of flowering plants called the harlequin flowers. It belongs to the iris family Iridaceae with about 13 species endemic to Cape Province, South Africa.
All are perennials that grow during the wet winter season, flower in spring and survive underground as dormant corms over summer. Their conspicuous flowers have six tepals, which in most species are equal in size and shape.
"Sparaxis bulbifera" has flowers from cream to yellow or purple. "Sparaxis grandiflora" is a similar but larger plant. In cultivation in the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. "Sparaxis tricolor" has bright red flowers with yellow and black centres. Many named hybrid cultivars were bred from "S. bulbifera" and "S. tricolor".
A group of species with asymmetrical flowers marked in mauve and yellow, including "Sparaxis variegata" and "Sparaxis villosa", was formerly treated as the genus "Synnotia".
The genus name is derived from the Greek word "sparasso", meaning "to tear", and alludes to the shape of the floral bracts.
Species.
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