Greek geisson – a tile, and rhiza – root, referring to the regularly overlapping scales on the corms.
Perennial herbs, dormant in summer. Corms flat-based with tunic of woody scales. Basal leaves usually 3, linear, erect, with midvein. Stem simple or few-branched with one leaf. Spikes 1-sided; spathes herbaceous. Perianth radially symmetrical; tube funnel-shaped, very short; segments equal. Style slender, erect, usually protruding, with 3 short recurved branches.
84 species in southern Africa and Madagascar.
Seed or offsets.
One-sided spike of large, radially symmetrical flowers facing upwards; style long, erect.
Goldblatt (1985).
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.