Lapeyrousia

Plant Characteristics

Origin:	✈	?

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.

Scientific Names

Read about Lapeyrousia in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Lapeyrousia (Jean Francois Galoup de Lapey- rouse, distinguished French naval officer, born 1741). Iridaceae. African bulbs, something like freesias, but with mostly blue or red flowers, produced in summer instead of spring. Corm with matted tunics or coverings, flattened at the base: leaves usually only 1 or 2 to each st. (sometimes several), very narrow, in some cases nearly terete, distichous: peduncle mostly branched; flowers small, red to white and yellow; perianth-tube subcylindrical, long or short, somewhat dilated upward; Begins, nearly equal, spreading, oblong-lanceolate; stamens inserted in the throat; ovary 3-celled: fr. a small caps., oblong or globose, loculicidal. Species about 50 in Trop. and S. Afr. By dealers they may be listed under the name of Anomatheca, which Baker has reduced to one of the 3 subgenera of Lapeyrousia, characterized by having several leaves forming a 2-ranked basal rosette, accompanied by a long, branched st. Lapeyrousia is further distinguished from Freesia by having a more slender perianth-tube, with the stamens inserted at the throat instead of below; also by the ovules being more regularly superposed instead of crowded together. The species of Lapeyrousia have an egg-shaped or globose corm about 1/2 in. thick, and matted with tunics: leaves linear or sword-shaped: infl. various, often a loose, 1- sided, more or less zigzag spike, as in Freesia; flowers variously colored, 1-2 in. across; perianth-tube long or short; segms. spreading, 3 larger than the other 3. Some of the lapeyrousias can be grown outdoors in the North with some winter covering, and are said to be quite hardy south of Washington, D. C., if planted deep. These plants will probably never have anything like the degree of popularity enjoyed by freesias, because of their later season of bloom and lack of fragrance. Probably the most popular kind is L. cruenta, which grows 6 to 10 inches high, blooming in summer and fall. In a sheltered place and in light, porous soil it generally succeeds in the North without any protection, but the bulbs are safer in very severe winters under a covering of litter or straw. The bulbs increase rapidly, and should be divided every few years before they become too crowded. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

Do you have cultivation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Propagation

Do you have propagation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Pests and diseases

Do you have pest and disease info on this plant? Edit this section!

Gallery

If you have a photo of this plant, please upload it! Plus, there may be other photos available for you to add.

• 

  photo 1

• 

  photo 2

• 

  photo 3

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Lapeyrousia. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Lapeyrousia QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)