Common Name:

General Information

Moraea fugax is a perennial plant producing annual growth up to 45cm tall from a perennial, underground corm.
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild for local use as food. It is also sometimes grown as an ornamental[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

S. Africa

Habitat

Flat land and mountain slopes[]. Deep sandy soils, rocky sandstone and granitic soils[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Corm
Height	0.50 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Moraea fugax is a plant of subtropical regions and is not very cold-hardy. It can tolerate short periods with temperatures falling as low as -5°c[]
Requires a light gritty well-drained soil and a sunny position[, , ]. The bulbs must be kept dry whilst they are dormant[, ].
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[].

Edible Uses

Bulb - cooked[]. Palatable and nourishing, with a flavour that is like sweet chestnuts or potatoes[, , ].

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[]. 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.