Latin arista – an awn of barley or wheat, referring to the appearance of the spathes in some species.
Perennial evergreen herbs with woody rhizome, forming tussocks. Leaves basal, sword-shaped with several prominent veins. Flowers in a panicle of clusters each with a spathe. Perianth tube very short; segments spreading, spirally twisted together after flowering, the outer ones slightly shorter than the inner. Stamens free, protruding. Style unbranched with a flat 3-lobed stigma.
50 species in southern Africa and Madagascar.
Seed or division.
Intense blue flowers, evergreen tussocks of ridged leaves.
Vincent (1985), Goldblatt (1995), Goldblatt et al. (2002).
Source: (2005). Iridaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.