Crocosmia.
Family Iridaceae.
There are 9 species of Falling Stars and one hybrid.
Some used to be common garden plants and some are invasive.
The perennial plants are dormant in winter.
Growing from corms up to 6 cm wide they form dense clumps.
The mostly basal, linear leaves are 50 to 100 cm long.
The leaves are never folded but can be pleated or ribbed.
They sometimes have minute hairs.
The wiry inflorescence spikes, with flowers in 2 ranks, are often branched.
The stems are mostly arched over or horizontal.
They are often zigzagged or have bends and curves.
The up to 30 flowers have small bracts under them.
The closely packed flowers are up to 4 cm long.
The 6 tepals have fused bases and the flowers are funnel shaped or tubular.
The tube can be straight or curved and the lobes can be longer or shorter than it.
The lobes may all be similar, different sizes or bilabiate.
Flowers are typically bright orange to red or yellow and the tips may be darker.
Some or all tepals can have a contrasting colour at the base.
Others are pink, pale orange, orange-red or brownish-orange.
The 3 stamens can be evenly spaced or all on one side of the flower.
The style, with 3 short and sometimes recurved branches, is longer than the stamens.
The ovary, with 3 locules, is inferior.
The fruit are capsules with a few shiny seeds.
Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora.
Montbretia, a hybrid that was a common garden plant, is naturalised in Australia.
A very invasive plant up to 50 or 100 cm high with up to 12 linear leaves.
The flat leaves, up to 80 cm long and 2 cm wide, have a prominent midrib.
The inflorescence spike has a few branches that have 2 or 3 angles or ribs.
Holding up to 20 flowers it can be zigazgged or bent.
Under each funnel-shaped flower are 2 small ovate, brown bracts up to 1 cm long.
Flowers have the 6 tepal bases fused into a curved tube.
The tube, and the spreading, round tipped lobes, can each be up to 2 cm long.
The orange-red flowers open at the base of the spike first.
Spikes are commonly seen with fruit at the base and buds at the tip.
The 3 stamens are off to one side of the flower.
The style branches into three.
The fruit capsules, up to 1 cm across, hold dark brown seeds.
Crocosmia aurea.
Similar to Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora it also used to be commonly grown.
The arching, sometimes branched spikes have up to 10 flowers.
The branches have 7 to 10 ribs.
The orange, funnel-shaped flowers have a paler throat and darker orange markings.
The tepal lobes are longer than those of C. x crocosmiiflora and the three stamens are equally spaced.
J.F.
