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Iridaceae
African Corn Lily
Ixia maculata
Happiness, friendship, joy.
- Family
- Iridaceae
- Genus
- Ixia
- Native to
- South Africa
- Bloom season
- Spring
- Type
- Cormous perennial
- Height
- 30–60 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Sandy, sharply drained
- Water
- Moderate during growth; dry when dormant
- Hardiness
- 8–10
- Lifespan
- Long-lived bulb
Did you know
- Ixia flowers open only when the sun shines and snap closed at night and on cloudy days — a habit they share with their fynbos neighbors.
- The slender wiry stems can sway dramatically in a breeze without breaking, an adaptation to the windy Cape region.
- Most ixias have a contrasting dark center that creates a striking 'eye' in the middle of each star-shaped flower.
- It was a favorite cool-greenhouse flower of Victorian Europe, often grown alongside freesias and sparaxis in unheated conservatories.
- There are around 50 wild species of ixia, almost all endemic to South Africa's Cape Floristic Region — one of Earth's six floral kingdoms.
Color meanings
Pink
Cheerful loyalty