Watsonia

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Read about Watsonia in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Watsonia (named for Sir Wm. Watson, M.D., 1715-1787, electrician and professor of botany at Chelsea). Iridaceae. Tunicate bulbous herbs, much like gladiolus, used in the garden for summer bloom. Stems usually tall: lvs. long, sword-shaped: spikes long, simple or slightly branched; spathes lanceolate oblong or narrow, usually numerous: fls. 1 to a spathe, sessile; perianth-tube curved, broadened above, lobes subequal, ovate, oblong or lanceolate; stamens affixed within the throat; ovary 3-celled, cells many-ovuled: caps. globose, ovoid or short-oblong, loculicidally 3-valved.—About 33 species, S. Afr. The main differences between Watsonia and Gladiolus, from the horticultural as well as botanical points of view, are the longer tube and regular fl. of Watsonia, 3 of the 6 perianth-segms. in Gladiolus being usually different in size, shape, and direction of spread. An important botanical difference is that the style-branches of Watsonia are simple, while those of Gladiolus are bifid. Watsonias bloom from July to September and have scarlet, rose, or white six-lobed flowers, with usually a long slender tube which is bent near the base. They are very much like gladioli, having the same kind of a corm, the same sword-shaped rigid leaves, the same kind of a spike and the same season of bloom. It is, therefore, a great mistake to suppose that they are suited only to greenhouse cultivation. Great interest has been aroused in watsonias by the introduction of the white watsonia, known to the trade as W. Ardernei. The plant might be roughly described as a white gladiolus. It grows 3 to 4 feet high, strong specimens being branched, and bears a dozen or more flowers, each 2 1/2 to 3 inches long and about 3 inches across. The purity of its color and its value for cutting make it of exceptional interest to florists. There are other white-flowered forms of watsonia, but none of them seems to be in the American trade. Pure white is the exception in the iris family: while it is a common, if not dominant, "color" in the lily and amaryllis families. The white watsonia has acquired so many names that a short historical sketch of the plant is desirable. All the stock in the trade at present is supposed to be descended from plants cultivated by H. W. Arderne, of Cape Town. The original bulb was found 80 miles away in a peatbog amongst thousands of the common pink-flowered kind. In October, 1892, Arderne had 400 spikes in bloom and in March, 1893, some of his plants were pictured in "The Garden" under the name of Watsonia alba. However, a pure white-flowered form had been previously found near Port Elizabeth and a bulb sent to J. O'Brien, of Harrow, flowered in England in 1889 and was then fully described as W. iridifolia var. O'Brienii, the name adopted in this work. In the recent discussions of the plant, the fact has been overlooked that T. S. Ware, of Tottenham, cultivated a white variety in 1880, it being figured in "The Garden" for that year as Watsonia alba. A nearly white form was cultivated in England as early as 1801, but the tube was pinkish outside and there was a rosy spot at the base of each perianth-segment. William Watson, of Kew, was the first to emphasize the close horticultural parallel between Watsonia and Gladiolus and to urge the whole group on the attention of the plant-breeder. This suggestion, coming from the man who may be said to have created the modern Cape primrose or streptocarpus, should result in another fine race of hybrids before many years. However, the Watsonia "bulb" is not so easily and safely stored as that of Gladiolus. 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.

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References

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

External links

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