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Moraea fugax

Common name:		Family:	Iridaceae
Author:	(Delaroche.)Jacq.	Botanical references:	73, 200
Synonyms:	Moraea edulis ((L.f.)Ker-Gawl.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S. Africa.
Habitat:	Flat land and mountain slopes[73], usually on sandy soils.
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	fugax = transitory, fleeting
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Iris family

Physical Characteristics

Corm growing to 0.5m. It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen in September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Root.

Bulb - cooked[105]. Palatable and nourishing, with a flavour that is like sweet chestnuts or potatoes[2, 42, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a light gritty well-drained soil and a sunny position[42, 79, 200]. The bulbs must be kept dry whilst they are dormant[79, 200].
This species is not quite hardy in Britain, though it does well in a cold greenhouse or cool conservatory[1, 200]. 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].

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]. 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.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Iridaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[42] Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938
Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.

[73] Adamson. and Salter. Flora of the Cape Peninsula.
A good flora but rather short on details of habitat. Not for the casual reader.

[79] Innes. C. The World of Iridaceae
Deals with many of the plants in the Iris family giving brief details of habitat and notes on cultivation. Well illustrated.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to 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.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
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.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
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