Moraea fugax
(D.Delaroche) Jacq.
Iridaceae
Related to Moraea excelsa[
378- Title
- Present and Potential Commercial Timbers of the Caribbean
- Publication
- USDA Agricultural Handbook No. 207
- Author
- Longwood.F.R.
- Publisher
- USDA Forest Service; Washington, DC.
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Quite detailed information on more than 60 species of Caribbean timber trees, giving species descriptions, habitat, detailed info on the wood and some info on other uses. Available for download on the internet.
].
Moraea edulis (L.f.) Ker Gawl.
Vieusseuxia fugax D.Delaroche
Aristea umbellata Spreng.
Iris capensis Burm.f.
Iris edulis L.f.
Iris longifolia Schneev.
Moraea capensis (Burm.f.) Klatt
Moraea corniculata Lam.
Moraea longifolia (Schneev.) Sweet
Moraea odora Salisb.
Vieusseuxia edulis (L.f.) Link
Vieusseuxia longifolia Eckl.
Common Name:
Called fugax because of its shortlived flowers, which bloom for only half a day.
Photograph by: Andrew massyn
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Called fugax because of its shortlived flowers, which bloom for only half a day.
Photograph by: Andrew massyn
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Yellow flowered form
Photograph by: Andrew massyn
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
General Information
Moraea fugax is a perennial plant producing annual growth up to 45cm tall from a perennial, underground corm.
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild for local use as food. It is also sometimes grown as an ornamental[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
73- Title
- Flora of the Cape Peninsula.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Adamson. and Salter.
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A good flora but rather short on details of habitat. Not for the casual reader.
,
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
Range
S. Africa.
Habitat
Flat land and mountain slopes[
73- Title
- Flora of the Cape Peninsula.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Adamson. and Salter.
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A good flora but rather short on details of habitat. Not for the casual reader.
]. Deep sandy soils, rocky sandstone and granitic soils[
282- Title
- The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs
- Publication
-
- Author
- Manning. J. Goldblatt. P. & Snijman. D.
- Publisher
- Timber Press, Oregon.
- Year
- 2002
- ISBN
- 0-88192-547-0
- Description
- Excellent treatment of these plants, with good descriptions, habitat etc. Lots of high quality colour photographs.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Habit | Corm |
| Height | 0.50 m |
| Pollinators | Insects |
| Cultivation Status | Ornamental, Wild |
Cultivation Details
Moraea fugax is a plant of subtropical regions and is not very cold-hardy. It can tolerate short periods with temperatures falling as low as -5°c[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]
Requires a light gritty well-drained soil and a sunny position[
42- Title
- Hardy Bulbs.; Including Half-hardy Bulbs and Tuberous and Fiberous-rooted Plants
- Publication
-
- Author
- Grey. C. H.
- Publisher
- Williams & Norgate.
- Year
- 1938
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
,
79- Title
- The World of Iridaceae
- Publication
-
- Author
- Innes. C.
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Deals with many of the plants in the Iris family giving brief details of habitat and notes on cultivation. Well illustrated.
,
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. The bulbs must be kept dry whilst they are dormant[
79- Title
- The World of Iridaceae
- Publication
-
- Author
- Innes. C.
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Deals with many of the plants in the Iris family giving brief details of habitat and notes on cultivation. Well illustrated.
,
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
The corms should be planted about 12cm deep.
Individual flowers only live for 6 hours, though the plant produces a succession of blooms during the flowering period[
42- Title
- Hardy Bulbs.; Including Half-hardy Bulbs and Tuberous and Fiberous-rooted Plants
- Publication
-
- Author
- Grey. C. H.
- Publisher
- Williams & Norgate.
- Year
- 1938
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
].
Edible Uses
Bulb - cooked[
105- Title
- Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Tanaka. T. & Nakao S.
- Publisher
- Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo
- Year
- 1976
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
]. Palatable and nourishing, with a flavour that is like sweet chestnuts or potatoes[
2- Title
- Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Hedrick. U. P.
- Publisher
- Dover Publications
- Year
- 1972
- ISBN
- 0-486-20459-6
- Description
- Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
,
42- Title
- Hardy Bulbs.; Including Half-hardy Bulbs and Tuberous and Fiberous-rooted Plants
- Publication
-
- Author
- Grey. C. H.
- Publisher
- Williams & Norgate.
- Year
- 1938
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
,
183- Title
- Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Facciola. S.
- Publisher
- Kampong Publications
- Year
- 1990
- ISBN
- 0-9628087-0-9
- Description
- Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
].
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a warm greenhouse. A spring sowing in the greenhouse has proved very successful with us[
K- Title
- Plants for a Future
- Author
- Ken Fern
- Description
- Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]. Sow the seed thinly so that the young plants can be grown on in the pot without disturbance for their first year. Give an occasional liquid feed to ensure that the plants do not become nutrient deficient. Pot up the small bulbs at the end of their first growing season, placing 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on in the greenhouse for another 2 years before planting them out into their permanent positions when they are dormant in the autumn.
Division of offsets whilst the plants are dormant from September to January. The larger bulbs can be replanted immediately into their permanent positions, but it is best to pot up the smaller bulbs and grow them on for a year before planting them out in the autumn.
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.
Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
