Moraea miniata

Moraea miniata produces flowers on its branched stems when the plant is two to three years old. The plant tends to invade land that is overgrazed or otherwise deteriorated. It grows easily from seed and also from its corms.

In addition, it forms little cormils underground around the main corm, as well as little bulbils aboveground in the leaf axils. These boosters to propagation can grow independently and thus speed up the plant’s propagation when conditions are suitable.

This Moraea may be confused with M. flaccida that is also an internationally noted weed. Big parts of Australia have an infestation of several of the South African Iridaceae species, including both of the species mentioned here. This one is also listed as a federal noxious weed in the USA. It contains what is known as a cardiac glycoside, called homeridin that is toxic to livestock (www.weeds.org.au; http://keys.lucidcentral.org).