FERRARIA

SPECIES	SOURCE
Ferraria brevifolia	Maurice Boussard
Ferraria crispa	Ori Fragman-Sapir Bill Dijk Michael Vassar Maurice Boussard
Ferraria crispa ssp. nortieri	Michael Vassar
Ferraria densepunctulata	UCI Arboretum Bill Dijk Maurice Boussard
Ferraria ferrariola	UCI Arboretum
Ferraria foliosa	Bill Dijk Maurice Boussard
Ferraria framesii	Maurice Boussard
Ferraria schaferi	UCI Arboretum
Ferraria species	Jean-Baptiste Boudias
Ferraria species	Jean-Baptiste Boudias
Ferraria species	Daryl Geoghegan
Ferraria species	Jean-Baptiste Boudias
Ferraria species	UCI Arboretum
Ferraria species	Doug Westfall
Ferraria uncinata	Mr Meredith Lloyd-Evans
Ferraria uncinata?	Mary Wise

A genus of 10 species of medium sized bulbous plants natives of S. Africa and Angola with curious spotted, crisp-edged starlike flowers, resembling a starfish.

These evanescent flowers range in unusual odd colours, from dusky shades of brown to yellow, violet and blue or combinations of all of these colours, and the scent of the blooms can vary from unpleasant to reminiscent of carrion and sweet almond.

It flowers from winter to spring, with several flowers opening, few at a time, over a long period of weeks, each one remaining open for two days.

They are easy bulbs to grow and enjoy a loamy soil in sun or semi-shade, but uncommon species are best grown in pots or containers to ensure success.

The hard flat corms can soon build up to large clumps.

Very unusual flowers but unfortunately very rare in cultivation except perhaps Ferraria crispa.

BTW: an extra bonus is the capturing of the flies attracted by the peculiar smell of the flowers, the red pollen can be clearly seen on the back of the flies as they brush past and collect the pollen from the anthers, and so the insects are the chief agents to secure another crop of seed for the continuation of the species.

Bill Dijk (Sep 22, 2002)
Tauranga, New Zealand