Bold and Beautiful Babiana

One of the most memorable Genera on my trip to South Africa was Babiana, in particular the ravishing B. rubrocyanea. I cannot get over the beauty of this flower. The colour is unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. It is intensely beautiful, and I find myself hypnotised by this beauty. See for yourself below.

Babianas make up 88 species mostly confined to the Western Cape and Namaqualand, and belong to the Iris family. The genus name is derived from the Dutch word baviaan, referring to the Baboon which consumes the corms of plants in the genus. Many are heavily scented. I fondly recall the sweet scent of B. vanzijliae.

I photographed 12 species on this trip. I have the good fortune of possessing a good SLR camera, which means that the colours captured are exactly what the eye sees. It certainly pays to have a good camera when photographing plants, although I have much to learn. This trip inspired me to start growing some of the South African bulbs from seeds, so I placed my order to Silverhill Seeds. www.silverhillseeds.co.za.  For those that know me, I am not fond of growing from seed, a) because space is involved, b) because it can take a long time to flower from seed.  Nevertheless, I brought back B. patula seeds from Cameron McMaster, and B. rubrocyanea from a generous member of the South African Botanical Society offered through Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town.

B. ambigua- De Hoop Reserve

 

B. patula- Napier

 

 

B. cuneata-Middlepos

 

B. framesii- Nieuwoudtville

 

B. praemorsa-Nieuwoudtville

B. vanzijliae- Nieuwoudtville

 



B. curviscapa- Nieuwoudtville

B. mucronata subsp. minor- Gifberg

B. hirsuta- Velddrift Dunes

B. tubulosa- Jakobsbaai

B. melanops-Darling

 

B. rubrocyanea- Darling Municipal Reserve