Greek hex – six, and glottis – tongue, referring to the six spreading style branches.
Perennial herbs, dormant in summer. Corms globose; tunic fibrous. Leaves basal, 1 to few, narrow linear, channelled. Stem erect, branched, covered with numerous sheathing bracts. Flowers in sessile clusters along branches. Perianth segments slightly unequal, widely spreading. Stamens joined in a tube. Style branches 3, each divided into 2 thread-like arms spreading horizontally,
6 species in S Africa, sometimes included in Moraea.
Seed or offsets.
Stems sheathed with numerous bracts; flowers small, yellow.
Goldblatt (1987, 1998).
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.
