Gynandriris / Moraea (Eurasian)

[Darren]

This was bought from Rannveig Wallis as 'Gynandriris sp from West of Urfa'

It is likely to be a form of G (M) sisyrinchium but I was struck by the size of the flowers - hence my thumb for scale.

[ronm]

That is very nice Darren. Any special requirements?

[Maggi Young]

Just as well you included your thumb there, Darren, otherwise we'd have had no idea how diminutive that flower is. What a dainty flower, with a good colour.

[Darren]

My first year with this form Ron - previous experience with the species indicates the main requirement is a proper hot dry summer. It may be hardy but debatable if it would get warm and dry enough in the garden. Perhaps a bulb frame might work?

[ronm]

Thanks Darren

[Oron Peri]

A little jewel in flower today [only for about 3 hours],
Moraea mediterranea [syn Gynandriris monophylla], it is only 6 cm tall.
A typical form from Crete and a form with two basal leaves from the Negev Desert.
Also Morea sisyrinchium forma Album which i have found two years ago on Mt. Hermon.
Sorry for the dark photos it is very hazy here at the moment.

[Angelo Porcelli]

Oron, am I understanding well this new nomenclature?
Moraea mediterranea = Gynandriris monophylla, a species with one leaf only-  Crete, other Greek islands on the east Mediterranean (Middle East too?)
Moraea sisyrinchium = Gynandriris sisyrinchium, the species with two leaves, often coiled, widespread in all Mediterranean basin

[Helen Johnstone]

I have several pots of Moraea huttonii grown from seed a few years back.  They have never flowered but put on lots of leaf growth each year.  Can I plant them out here in the W Midlands and so I just have to be patient and wait longer for flowers to appear?

[Oron Peri]

Oron, am I understanding well this new nomenclature?
Moraea mediterranea = Gynandriris monophylla, a species with one leaf only-  Crete, other Greek islands on the east Mediterranean (Middle East too?)
Moraea sisyrinchium = Gynandriris sisyrinchium, the species with two leaves, often coiled, widespread in all Mediterranean basin

Angelo,

Moraea mediterranea has one basal leaf and is  distributed in N. Africa; Egypt & Libya, Sinai desert  entering the Negev Desert and S. Jordan and north mainly  in E. Crete.
It is a species of dry habitats.
M. sisyrnchium has two basal leaves and a hugh distribution from the Balearics, through South Europe, North Africa, Eastern Mediterranean to Iran and the Himalaya, it overlap the distribution of M. mediterranea blooming at the same time of the year only that M. mediterranea blooms from around 11 AM to 2PM and M. sisyrinchium from 3 PM to around 6 PM.
The form from the Negev with two basal leaves might be an intermediate form.

[Angelo Porcelli]

Oron,

the Moraea with one leaf only is present in western Sicily too and it's the plant originally described from Todaro as Moraea sicula in 1885, so this name should be the correct one, because Todaro recognized properly this plant to be a Moraea and his specific name sicula should have priority on mediterranea. After a long confusion with Iris sicula, which is totally a different plant, Ciferri and Giacomini in 1979 described again this plant as Iris todaroana. In any case I think the binomial proposed by Manning should be invalid, because there are at least two valid publicated names for this plant, in both genera and species.

[Oron Peri]

Angelo,

I'm not a taxonomist and not sure why the accepted name at the moment is Moraea sisyrinchium, that includes M. sicula and Iris todaroana as part of  its 33! synonyms [probably originated due to the extremely wide distribution].
I haven't seen the form with one leaf you describe from Sicily and can only think that might be that both species are present there to cause this confusion...?

[Angelo Porcelli]

Oron,

this is Moraea sicula, the species with one leaf. I missed the flower yesterday afternoon

[monocotman]

This thread reminds me of a photo I took when on holiday in Sicily in 2010.
It ws taken at the end of April at a nature reserve on the south east corner of
Sicily, right on the top of the sea cliffs. There were lawns of these in flower.
I did find an alba form and if I find the photos of either, I'll post them,
Regards,
David

[Oron Peri]

Angelo and David,

Thanks for showing these photos.

I have not seen the original description of Todaro, therefore i can not comment as for why it became a synonym of M. sisyrinchium rather than M. mediterranea.
However i  do agree that the name M. sicula should have a priority in case it refers to M. mediterranea.

The species in the photos David shows here do seem to be M. mediterranea although i have not found records of it in Sicily, it may well be growing there for its vicinity to N. Africa.

It would be helpful if someone have a copy of the original description.

[Maggi Young]

I know that many of us have had difficulty in pollinating moraea,  iris and other irids- this blog post by Michael Mace from his "Growing Cool Plants" is tremendously useful -
http://growingcoolplants.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/how-to-pollinate-moraea-flowers.html