Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Tritonia crocata

Common name:		Family:	Iridaceae
Author:	(L.)Ker-Gawl.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Tritonia hyalina ((L.f.)Ker Gawl.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S. Africa.
Habitat:	Dry clay flats and slopes in the southern Cape[260].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ixia crocata[G] Ixia hyalina[G]
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	crocata = saffron yellow;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Iris family

Physical Characteristics

Corm growing to 0.5m by 0.1m . It is hardy to zone 9. It is in flower from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedgerow, Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Colouring; Condiment.

The flowers are used as an adulterant of saffron in flavouring food and colouring it yellow[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a sunny position, preferring a well-drained neutral to slightly acid soil with a pH in the range 6.5 to 7[200]. Requires moisture in the winter and spring followed by a dry period in the summer and early autumn[260].
A difficult plant to grow outdoors in Britain, it comes into growth in the winter and flowers in the spring[214, 260]. The growing plant is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[200].
Closely related to T. squallida, apparently differing only in the colour of the flowers[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse at 15°c[200]. It usually germinates freely[1]. Seed can also be sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a warm greenhouse[200]. Sow the seed thinly so that the seedlings can be left undisturbed in the pot for their first two years of growth. Give them an occasional liquid feed in the growing season to ensure they do not become nutrient deficient. When the plants become dormant in the summer, pot up the small bulbs placing 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on for another one or two years in the greenhouse before planting them out when they are dormant in late summer.
Division. Dig up the corms in October, dry them in well ventilated conditions at about 20°c and then store them in a cool but frost-free place over the winter, planting them out about 10cm deep in April[1, 200]. Corms should be planted out in the autumn[188].
Cormlets harvested when digging up the corms in the autumn can be stored in a similar manner to the corms[200]. Larger cormlets can be planted out in spring, smaller ones may be best grown on for a year in the greenhouse.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Tritonia hyalina (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic 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

[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]).

[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.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[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.

[214] Matthews. V. The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994. Royal Horticultural Society 1994 ISBN 1352-4186
A quarterly magazine, it has articles on Himalayacalamus hookerianus, hardy Euphorbias and an excellent article on Hippophae spp.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

Readers Comments

Main Search Page

Bibliography

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.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Tritonia+crocata
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Tritonia+crocata

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Log In :: Privacy Policy :: Home :: Philosophy

We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.