Watsonia (plant)

''Watsonia'' (bugle lily) is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, subfamily Crocoideae. Watsonias are native to southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini).Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The genus is named after Sir William Watson, an 18th-century British botanist.

Diversity

There are 56 accepted species in southern Africa, with two varieties and about 112 names either unresolved or regarded as synonyms. All are perennial herbs growing from corms and producing erect spikes of showy flowers. Most are fynbos plants, adapted to a Mediterranean-type climate, but some occur along the eastern and inland areas of the country and adapted to a wider range of conditions, mainly continental climate with summer rainfall. Many species occur mainly in the mountains, though some occur in sandy flats and marshy areas.

Cultivation

The most commonly cultivated species is the pink-flowered '' Watsonia borbonica'' and its white mutant 'Arderne's White'. These were crossed with '' Watsonia meriana'' and other species in the early 20th century by breeders including John Cronin in Australia and Luther Burbank in California to produce a wide range of cultivars. ''Watsonia'' has been eclipsed in popularity by ''Gladiolus'' and other bulbs, and is now neglected by the nursery industry.

Distribution

Native to South Africa, ''Watsonia'' species were introduced as garden ornamentals to Australia in the mid-19th century and were widely grown by the 1940s.

In the South-West of Western Australia, six species have become naturalised from garden escapes along rivers, wetlands and seasonally wet ground. In places ''Watsonia'' spp. have displaced native understorey flora; concentrations of them create a fire hazard in summer.

'' Watsonia meriana var. bulbillifera'' is also a weed in New Zealand, Réunion and Mauritius.

Systematics

The genus comprises 58 species.
* ''Watsonia aletroides'' (Burm.f.) Ker Gawl.
* ''Watsonia amabilis'' Goldblatt
* ''Watsonia amatolae'' Goldblatt
* ''Watsonia angusta'' Ker Gawl.
* ''Watsonia bachmannii'' L.Bolus
* ''Watsonia bella'' N.E.Br. ex Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia borbonica'' (Pourr.) Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia borbonica'' subsp. ''ardernei'' (Sander) Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia borbonica'' subsp. ''borbonica''
* '' Watsonia canaliculata'' Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia coccinea'' (Herb. ex Baker) Baker
* '' Watsonia confusa'' Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia densiflora'' Baker
* '' Watsonia distans'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia dubia'' Eckl. ex Klatt
* '' Watsonia elsiae'' Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia emiliae'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia fergusoniae'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia fourcadei'' J.W.Mathews & L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia galpinii'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia gladioloides'' Schltr.
* '' Watsonia humilis'' Mill.
* '' Watsonia hysterantha'' J.W.Mathews & L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia inclinata'' Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia knysnana'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia laccata'' (Jacq.) Ker Gawl.
* '' Watsonia latifolia'' N.E.Br. ex Oberm.
* '' Watsonia lepida'' N.E.Br.
* '' Watsonia ×'' longifolia J.W.Mathews & L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia marginata'' (L.f.) Ker Gawl.
* '' Watsonia marlothii'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia meriana'' (L.) Mill.
* '' Watsonia meriana'' var. ''bulbillifera'' (J.W.Mathews & L.Bolus) D.A.Cooke
* '' Watsonia meriana'' var. ''meriana''
* '' Watsonia minima'' Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia mtamvunae'' Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia obrienii'' V. Tibergen
* '' Watsonia occulta'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia paucifolia'' Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia pillansii'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia pondoensis'' Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia pulchra'' N.E.Br. ex Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia rogersii'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia rourkei'' Goldblatt
* '' Watsonia schlechteri'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia spectabilis'' Schinz
* '' Watsonia stenosiphon'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia stokoei'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia strictiflora'' Ker Gawl.
* '' Watsonia strubeniae'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia tabularis'' J.W.Mathews & L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia transvaalensis'' Baker
* '' Watsonia vanderspuyae'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia versfeldii'' J.W.Mathews & L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia watsonioides'' (Baker) Oberm.
* '' Watsonia wilmaniae'' J.W.Mathews & L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia wilmsii'' L.Bolus
* '' Watsonia zeyheri'' L.Bolus

See also

* List of plants known as lily

Notes

References

* Goldblatt, P. (1989) The Genus Watsonia. Ann. Kirstenbosch Bot. Gard. 19. (National Botanic Gardens: Cape Town).

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q139122

Iridaceae genera
Iridaceae
Flora of Southern Africa
Taxa named by Philip Miller