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Iridaceae
Tiger Flower
Tigridia pavonia
Boldness, ephemeral beauty, love for one day.
- Family
- Iridaceae
- Genus
- Tigridia
- Native to
- Mexico, Guatemala
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- Cormous perennial
- Height
- 30–60 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Well-drained, sandy
- Water
- Moderate during growth
- Hardiness
- 8–10; lifted as annual elsewhere
- Lifespan
- Cormous perennial
Did you know
- Each tigridia flower lasts only a single day, but a healthy corm produces a long succession of new flowers all summer.
- The Aztecs called it cacomitl and grew it both as an ornamental and for its edible roasted bulbs, which taste like chestnuts.
- The three large outer petals and three small spotted inner petals together create a flower that looks like a wide-open mouth — or, with imagination, a tiger's face.
- The species name pavonia means 'peacock' in Latin, referring to the flamboyant spotted center.
- Tigridias have been cultivated in Mexican gardens for at least 600 years, making them one of the oldest documented ornamental plants of the Americas.
Color meanings
Red
Burning brief affection