Greek krokos – saffron, osme – scent, as the dried flowers smell of saffron.
Perennial herbs, dormant in winter. Corms persistent, globose; tunics fibrous. Leaves basal, swordshaped, with midvein. Spathes short, brown. Flower more or less bilaterally symmetrical, red to yellow. Perianth tube curved, gradually widened, pouchless; top lobes usually enlarged. Stamens equal, protruding. Stigmas tiny. Capsule broad and round with few seeds.
Crocosmia was a popular ornamental in the Victorian era, and many named cultivars bred in Europe were imported.
10 species in southern Africa and Madagascar.
Division of clumps in winter.
Summer-growing; red to yellow funnel-shaped flowers with curved tube.
Kostelijk (1984), de Vos (1984, 1999b).
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.