If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Temperate Plants

Moraea fugax

(Delaroche.)Jacq.

Iridaceae


The Temperate Database is in the process of being updated, with new records being added and old ones being checked and brought up to date where necessary. This record has not yet been checked and updated.

+ Synonyms

Common Name:

Moraea fugax
Called fugax because of its shortlived flowers, which bloom for only half a day.
Photograph by: Andrew massyn
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Moraea fugax Moraea fugax Moraea fugax

General Information

Moraea fugax is a Corm up to 0.50 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

73
Title
Flora of the Cape Peninsula.
Publication
 
Author
Adamson. and Salter.
Publisher
 
Year
 
ISBN
 
Description
A good flora but rather short on details of habitat. Not for the casual reader.
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Range

S. Africa.

Habitat

Flat land and mountain slopes[
73
Title
Flora of the Cape Peninsula.
Publication
 
Author
Adamson. and Salter.
Publisher
 
Year
 
ISBN
 
Description
A good flora but rather short on details of habitat. Not for the casual reader.
]. Deep sandy soils, rocky sandstone and granitic soils[
282
Title
The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs
Publication
 
Author
Manning. J. Goldblatt. P. & Snijman. D.
Publisher
Timber Press, Oregon.
Year
2002
ISBN
0-88192-547-0
Description
Excellent treatment of these plants, with good descriptions, habitat etc. Lots of high quality colour photographs.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *  *
HabitCorm
Height0.50 m
PollinatorsInsects
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

Requires a light gritty well-drained soil and a sunny position[
42
Title
Hardy Bulbs.
Publication
 
Author
Grey. C. H.
Publisher
Williams & Norgate.
Year
1938
ISBN
-
Description
Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
,
79
Title
The World of Iridaceae
Publication
 
Author
Innes. C.
Publisher
 
Year
 
ISBN
 
Description
Deals with many of the plants in the Iris family giving brief details of habitat and notes on cultivation. Well illustrated.
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. The bulbs must be kept dry whilst they are dormant[
79
Title
The World of Iridaceae
Publication
 
Author
Innes. C.
Publisher
 
Year
 
ISBN
 
Description
Deals with many of the plants in the Iris family giving brief details of habitat and notes on cultivation. Well illustrated.
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
This species is not quite hardy in Britain, though it does well in a cold greenhouse or cool conservatory[
1
Title
RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Publication
 
Author
F. Chittendon.
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Year
1951
ISBN
-
Description
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. The corms should be planted about 12cm deep.
Individual flowers only live for 6 hours, though the plant produces a succession of blooms during the flowering period[
42
Title
Hardy Bulbs.
Publication
 
Author
Grey. C. H.
Publisher
Williams & Norgate.
Year
1938
ISBN
-
Description
Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
].

Edible Uses

Bulb - cooked[
105
Title
Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Tanaka. T. & Nakao S.
Publisher
Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo
Year
1976
ISBN
-
Description
The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
]. Palatable and nourishing, with a flavour that is like sweet chestnuts or potatoes[
2
Title
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Hedrick. U. P.
Publisher
Dover Publications
Year
1972
ISBN
0-486-20459-6
Description
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
,
42
Title
Hardy Bulbs.
Publication
 
Author
Grey. C. H.
Publisher
Williams & Norgate.
Year
1938
ISBN
-
Description
Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
,
183
Title
Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications
Year
1990
ISBN
0-9628087-0-9
Description
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a warm greenhouse. A spring sowing in the greenhouse has proved very successful with us[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]. Sow the seed thinly so that the young plants can be grown on in the pot without disturbance for their first year. Give an occasional liquid feed to ensure that the plants do not become nutrient deficient. Pot up the small bulbs at the end of their first growing season, placing 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on in the greenhouse for another 2 years before planting them out into their permanent positions when they are dormant in the autumn.
Division of offsets whilst the plants are dormant from September to January. The larger bulbs can be replanted immediately into their permanent positions, but it is best to pot up the smaller bulbs and grow them on for a year before planting them out in the autumn.
Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Moraea+fugax>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.