Genus: Moraea

[= Homeria]

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Monocotyledons > Order: Asparagales > Family: Iridaceae

About 200 species, found throughout sub-Saharan Africa and with two species also occurring in the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. A total of 184 species are native to southern Africa, with a concentration of species in the Western Cape.

Species native to southern Africa

List from Plants of southern Africa (POSA) - an online checklist (SANBI), Flora of Zimbabwe and Flora of Mozambique.

Moraea albicuspa
Moraea albiflora
Moraea algoensis
Moraea alpina
Moraea alticola
Moraea amissa
Moraea angulata
Moraea angusta
Moraea anomala
Moraea ardesiaca
Moraea aristata
Moraea aspera
Moraea atropunctata
Moraea australis
Moraea autumnalis
Moraea barkerae
Moraea barnardiella
Moraea barnardii
Moraea bellendenii
Moraea bifida
Moraea bipartita
Moraea bituminosa
Moraea bolusii
Moraea brachygyne
Moraea brevistyla
Moraea brevituba
Moraea britteniae
Moraea bubalina
Moraea bulbillifera
Moraea caeca
Moraea calcicola
Moraea cantharophila
Moraea carnea
Moraea carsonii
Moraea cedarmonticola
Moraea ciliata
Moraea citrina
Moraea collina
Moraea comptonii
Moraea contorta
Moraea cookii
Moraea cooperi
Moraea crispa
Moraea debilis
Moraea deltoidea
Moraea demissa
Moraea deserticola
Moraea dracomontana
Moraea elegans
Moraea elliotii
Moraea elsiae
Moraea exiliflora
Moraea falcifolia
Moraea fenestralis
Moraea fenestrata
Moraea fergusoniae
Moraea fistulosa
Moraea flaccida
Moraea flavescens
Moraea flexicaulis
Moraea fragrans
Moraea fugacissima
Moraea fugax
Moraea fuscomontana
Moraea galaxia
Moraea galpinii
Moraea garipensis
Moraea gawleri
Moraea gigandra
Moraea gracilenta
Moraea graminicola
Moraea graniticola
Moraea herrei [= Barnardiella spiralis]
Moraea hesperantha
Moraea hexaglottis
Moraea hiemalis
Moraea huttonii
Moraea inclinata
Moraea inconspicua
Moraea incurva
Moraea indecora
Moraea insolens
Moraea inyangani Recorded from Zimbabwe.
Moraea kamiesensis
Moraea kamiesmontana
Moraea karroica
Moraea knersvlaktensis
Moraea lewisiae
Moraea lilacina
Moraea linderi
Moraea longiaristata
Moraea longiflora
Moraea longifolia
Moraea longipes
Moraea longistyla
Moraea loubseri
Moraea louisabolusiae
Moraea lugubris
Moraea lurida
Moraea luteoalba
Moraea macgregorii
Moraea macrocarpa
Moraea macronyx
Moraea margaretae
Moraea marginata
Moraea marionae
Moraea marlothii
Moraea maximiliani
Moraea melanops
Moraea miniata
Moraea minima
Moraea minor
Moraea modesta
Moraea moggii
Moraea monticola
Moraea muddii See Flora of Mozambique.
Moraea namaquamontana
Moraea namaquana
Moraea namibensis
Moraea nana
Moraea natalensis See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Moraea neglecta
Moraea nubigena
Moraea ochroleuca
Moraea pallida
Moraea papilionacea
Moraea patens
Moraea pearsonii
Moraea pendula
Moraea pilifolia
Moraea polyanthos
Moraea polystachya
Moraea pritzeliana
Moraea pseudospicata
Moraea pubiflora
Moraea pyrophila
Moraea radians
Moraea ramosissima
Moraea reflexa
Moraea regalis
Moraea reticulata
Moraea rigidifolia
Moraea riparia
Moraea rivulicola
Moraea robusta
Moraea saxicola
Moraea schimperi Recorded from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. See Flora of Mozambique.
Moraea schlechteri
Moraea serpentina
Moraea serratostyla
Moraea setifolia
Moraea simplex Limited to the moist clay flats at the eastern foot of the Piketberg Mountains, Western Cape, South Africa.
Moraea simulans
Moraea spathulata
Moraea speciosa
Moraea stagnalis
Moraea stricta See Flora of Mozambique.
Moraea tanquana
Moraea thomasiae
Moraea thomsonii
Moraea tortilis
Moraea tricolor
Moraea tricuspidata
Moraea trifida
Moraea tripetala
Moraea tulbaghensis
Moraea umbellata
Moraea unguiculata
Moraea unibracteata
Moraea vallisavium
Moraea vallisbelli
Moraea variabilis
Moraea vegeta
Moraea venenata
Moraea ventricosa Recorded from Mozambique.
Moraea verecunda
Moraea versicolor
Moraea vespertina
Moraea vigilans
Moraea villosa
Moraea virgata
Moraea viscaria
Moraea vlokii
Moraea worcesterensis

Some species are pollinated by long-tongued flies, others by monkey beetles or carrion flies (Goldblatt & Manning 2000).

Publications

• Goldblatt, P. 1986. The moraeas of southern Africa. Annals of Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens 14.

• Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J.C. 1995. New species of southern African Moraea (Iridaceae: Iridoideae), and the reduction of Rheome. Novon 5: 262-269.

• Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J.C. 2000. Iridaceae. In: In: Seed Plants of Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 623-638. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.