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Scientific Name
Synonyms
Family
Common Names
Origin
Cultivation
Naturalised Distribution
Habitat
Habit
Distinguishing Features
Stems and Leaves
Flowers and Fruit
Reproduction and Dispersal
Environmental Impact
Other Impacts
Legislation
Management
Similar Species
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Click on images to enlarge

large infestation (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

infestation (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

habit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

habit of plant showing the single large strap-like leaf (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

stems and leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

flowers (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

close-up of flower showing yellow centre and stamens (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

Moraea flaccida

Scientific Name

Moraea flaccida (Sweet) Steud.

Synonyms

Homeria breyniana G.J. Lewis (misapplied)
Homeria breyniana G.J. Lewis var. aurantiaca (Sweet) G.J. Lewis (misapplied)
Homeria collina Salisb. (misapplied)
Homeria collina Salisb. var. miniata-minor Ker Gawl.
Homeria flaccida Sweet

 

Family

Iridaceae

Common Names

Cape tulip, one leaf Cape tulip, one-leaf Cape tulip, one-leaved Cape tulip

Origin

Native to southern Africa (i.e. Cape Province in South Africa).

Cultivation

Like many other species in this genus, one-leaf Cape tulip (Moraea flaccida) has been widely cultivated as a garden ornamental in the temperate regions of Australia.

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in southern Australia (i.e. naturalised in some parts of eastern New South Wales, in Victoria and Tasmania, in south-eastern and southern South Australia and in south-western Western Australia). Also naturalised on Norfolk Island.

Habitat

A common weed of pastures, open woodlands, grasslands, wetland margins, roadsides, parks, disturbed sites, waste areas and crops in temperate regions. It may occasionally also be found in semi-arid regions.

Habit

An upright (i.e. erect) herbaceous plant with long-lived (i.e. perennial) underground 'bulbs' (i.e. corms) and short-lived (i.e. annual) stems and leaves. This species usually grows 25-60 cm tall, but it may sometimes reach up to 75 cm in height.

Distinguishing Features

Stems and Leaves

The green stems are upright (i.e. erect) and sometimes slightly zig-zagging in nature. These stems are rounded, hairless (i.e. glabrous), and produce a few branches near the top of the plant.

There is usually only one large leaf per plant, and this leaf sheaths the lower part of the stem. It is strap-like (i.e. linear), hairless (i.e. glabrous), slightly ribbed and folded when young (up to 1 m long and 6-20 mm wide). There are also some smaller leafy bracts (2-6 cm long) towards the top of the stems.

Flowers and Fruit

The flowers (3-8 cm across) are borne at the tips of the branches and have six elongated 'petals' (i.e. tepals or perianth segments) 25-40 mm long. They are usually orange or salmon pink in colour with a yellow centre, but they can occasionally be entirely yellow with a slightly darker centre. At the base of each flower are two elongated green floral bracts (3-8 cm long) which may be mistaken for sepals. Each flower also has three stamens with yellow anthers (8-11 mm long) and an ovary topped with a three-branched style. Flowering occurs mostly during late winter and early spring (i.e. from August to October).

The fruit is a green capsule that turns brown in colour as it matures. This capsule is elongated in shape (25-55 mm long), has a short projection (i.e. beak) at its tip (2-3 mm long), and contains up to 150 small seeds. The seeds are brown in colour and irregularly shaped (about 2 mm long) with slightly winged margins.

Reproduction and Dispersal

This species reproduces vegetatively by 'bulbs' (i.e. corms) and also produces seed. Mature corms (10-25 mm across) are white, with a light brown fibrous covering, and produce 1-3 new corms each season.

The corms and seeds are both spread by machinery and in contaminated agricultural produce. Seeds may also be dispersed by animals, wind and water, and corms dispersed during the cultivation of paddocks.

Environmental Impact

One-leaf Cape tulip (Moraea flaccida) is regarded as a significant environmental weed in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, and as an environmental weed in New South Wales and Tasmania. This species is actively managed by community groups in Western Australia, and was recently listed as a priority environmental weed in at least one Natural Resource Management region.

Other Impacts

 

Legislation

This species is declared under legislation in the following states and territories:

Management

For information on the management of this species see the following resources:

Similar Species

One-leaf Cape tulip (Moraea flaccida) is similar to Cape tulip (Moraea collina), two-leaf Cape tulip (Moraea miniata) and Cape tulip (Moraea ochroleuca). These species can be distinguished by the following differences:

In Australia, the difference between one-leaf Cape tulip (Moraea flaccida) and Cape tulip (Moraea collina ) is somewhat blurred. Naturalised populations in this country are derived from cultivated plants which sometimes involved complex hybrids of the two species. Hence, some populations can be identified as belonging to one of the two species, while others are intermediate between them.