Species
Aristea ecklonii
Common Name(s)
aristea
Family
Iridaceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Exotic
ARIECK
The
National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
Structural Class
Monocotyledonous Herbs
Habitat
Shrubland, open and disturbed forest (esp Kauri) herbfields, bush margins, gumland, coastline, rocky and bare land, especially in warm areas.
Features
Evergreen, iris-like perennial to 45 cm tall. Rhizomes woody, leaves linear, to 40 x 1 cm, sword-shaped, folded in reddish-purple-based fans, mostly basal but few on the stem. Stem flattened, slightly winged. Flowers 2 cm diameter, deep blue, in many clusters of 5-7 loose panicles, very fragile, opening briefly in bright sunlight. Seed capsule 2 cm long, grooved; seeds flat, dark red-brown.
Similar Taxa
The small 3-petalled blue flowers on this iris-like plant are quite distinctive.
Flowering
October
Flower Colours
Blue
Year Naturalised
1975
Origin
trop & S Africa
Reason For Introduction
Accidental
Life Cycle Comments
Perennial
Reproduction
Spreads by seed.
Dispersal
People, wind, water.
This page last updated on 22 Aug 2011