Dietes

Dietes bicolor (Steud.) Sweet ex Klatt (African Iris)

Dietes iridioides (L.) Sweet ex Klatt (Fortnight Lily)

die-EAT-ees BUY-col-or, irr-ed-ee-OID-ees

Iridaceae

Dietes is a genus of six species, five of them in Africa and one (D. robinsoniana) remarkably separated, occurring naturally 1/3 of the world away from Africa on Lord Howe Island near Tasmania.  Species of Dietes have been placed in Moraea historically, but in contemporary classifications (Goldblatt, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 68: 132-153. 1981) Moraea is a separate genus irrelevant to the present manual, and differing by having no rhizome, and by having the stamens fused basally (which is unusual in Dietes).

Synonymy:  D. vegeta (L.) N.E. Br.  is a synonym for D. iridioides (DEH).

Explanation of name: Dietes means having two relatives: Iris and Moraea (see Goldblatt reference above).  Bicolor means two-colored.  Iridioides means resembling Iris.

Natural range:  Africa (all Dietes species African except D. robinsoniana from Lord Howe Island)

Recognition:

Dietes bicolor Flowers pale yellow with orange and brown markings. Bracts 9-20 mm long, brown, paired; capsule globose.

Dietes grandiflora has a large near-white flowers with prominent yellow markings.

Dietes iridioides. Tepals white with yellow or orange markings, and with the styles purplish; capsule cylindrical. Bracts 25-50 mm long, green, not paired.  'Johnsonii' has upright leaves and tall flowering stalks.  'Oakhurst Hybrids' are spreading with creamy flowers having yellow-brown markings and a purple center (DEH).

Landscape uses:  Popular in water gardens for their showy iris-like flowers, Dietes bicolor may be grown in moist soil or in standing water.   Dietes iridioides prefers drier (moderate to slightly dry) conditions.