Leaves 25-100 cm long, 1.2-4.5 cm wide; midvein and margins fine, red. Spike 60-180 cm tall with 12-25 flowers, sometimes branched; late spring. Spathes 20-30 mm long, entirely green or dry and brown at tip. Perianth brick-red to salmon-pink, orange; upper tube 20-26 mm long, cylindrical, 7-8 mm wide at the mouth; segments lanceolate to ovate, acute, all hooded or the lower ones flared, 21-26 mm long, 8-15 mm wide. Stamens in upper part of flower.
W Cape of Good Hope to Namaqualand.
W. meriana var. bulbillifera (J. Mathews &L. Bolus) D.A. Cooke, Bulbil Watsonia, is a more vigorous triploid with the lower flowers of the spike replaced by clusters of bulbils. It is of no ornamental value, and is a proclaimed noxious weed in some states.
W. coccinea Baker differs in its smaller size and deep red flowers.
W. pillansii L. Bolus E Cape of Good Hope, extending to Natal has leaves persisting all year, 25-60 cm long, 1-1.8 cm wide, midvein prominent. Spike unbranched to 130 cm tall, with 20-35 flowers; summer. Spathes 20-35 mm long, dry towards the tip, green at base. Perianth orange to orange-red; upper tube 20-25 mm long, cylindrical, 6-7 mm wide at mouth; segments lanceolate, acute, flared, 20-26 mm long, 9-15 mm wide. Stamens arched above the style. Syn. W. beatricis J. Mathews & L. Bolus; W. socium J. Mathews & L. Bolus. 'Beatrice' is the name applied to a group of hybrids with orange, pink or red flowers; possibly natural hybrids of W. pillansii.
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.
