Ixia fuscocitrina
Desf. ex Redouté Yellow IxiaCorm globose 12–18 mm diam., producing 1–3 stolons; stolons unbranched, 35–70 mm long, each with a terminal cormlet 6–8.5 mm diam. Stem unbranched, 30–70 cm high. Leaves 4(–5), erect, linear to linear-ovate, 10–42 cm long, (5–) 8–10 (–16) mm wide, often with prominent midvein. Inflorescence 4–12-flowered, flowers crowded towards apex. Primary bracts often deeply toothed, 8–14 mm long, dry and membranous, completely rust-red, densely brown-streaked or ± colourless at base. Flowers: inner surface pale yellow to deep yellow, the centre solid maroon or dark brownish purple or black; outer surface red at apex or over most of the tepal. Perianth tube narrowly cylindric, 10–17 mm long; lobes spreading, 1.5–2.5 cm long, 8–12 mm wide, with apex obtuse to acute. Staminal filaments united at base, 3–5 mm long, brown, pale blue, or sometimes violet (when dry) in the lower 1/4–3/4, yellow in upper 1/4 to 3/4; anthers 7–11 mm long, yellow. Ovary c. 4 mm long; style branches spreading at level of anthers, recurved, 3–5 mm long. Flowers Sep.–Oct.
Wim, VVP, VRiv, MuF, GipP, OtP, Gold, CVU, DunT, NIS, HSF. Also naturalised in WA, SA, NSW. Locally abundant (e.g. on roadsides and rail-reserves), mostly near settlements, occasionally invading natural vegetation communities. Endemic to the Western Cape near costal areas.
Very similar to Ixia maculata, and it was treated by Lewis (1962) as Ixia maculata var. fuscocitrina (Desf. ex DC.) G.J.Lewis. In a synopsis of section Ixia, Goldblatt & Manning (2016) treated var. fuscocitrina at specific rank. Based on an examination of specimens held at MEL, and the images of Australian observations in iNaturalist, the plants naturalised in Australia appear to better match I. fuscocitrina rather than I. maculata. I. fuscocitrina differs from I. maculata in having unbranched stolons to 100 mm long (vs. stolons branched, and to 20 mm long in I. maculata), the inner surface of the perianth is pale to deep yellow, with the central eye dark (vs perianth usually orange or occasionally yellow, with a dark centre and often with pale lines radiating out and forming a star-shaped mark), and the filaments are brown, or sometimes violet (when dry) in the lower 1/4–3/4, yellow in upper 1/4 to 3/4 (vs filaments uniformly yellow to orange in I. maculata) (Goldblatt & Manning 2010; Goldblatt & Manning 2016). I. fuscocitrina is considered s being endangered in South Africa (Goldblatt & Manning 2016).