Moraea Collina
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''Moraea collina'' is a species of the genus ''
Moraea ''Moraea'', the Cape tulips, is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1758. The group is widespread across Africa, the Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, ...
'', in the family
Iridaceae Iridaceae () is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the Iris (plant), irises. It has a nearly global distribution, with 69 accepted genera with a total of about 2500 species. It includes a number of economically importan ...
. It was formerly known as ''Homeria collina''.


Distribution

The plant is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the
Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...
, from Baines Kloof to Caledon. It is common on lower slopes and flats of
Fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...
habitats.


Description

''Moraea collina'' is a
corm Corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen, underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ''c ...
ous
geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...
, growing high. It has a simple or branched stem and a single sheath shaped leaf. The plant is not sticky to the touch. Flowers are yellow (or pale salmon pink) with yellow nectar guides. The outer
tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...
s form a cup. It flowers from July to September, with flowers opening in the afternoon.


Conservation

''Moraea collina'' is listed as a plant species of
Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
on the National Red List of South African plants.


References

Terry Trinder Smith & Mary Matham Kidd and Fay Anderson: Wild Flowers of the Table Mountain National Park: South African Wild Flower Guide 12 Botanical Society of South Africa 2006. {{Taxonbar, from=Q6908983 collina Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces Fynbos Least concern plants Least concern biota of Africa IUCN Red List least concern species