Phil Bendle Collection:Crocosmia X crocosmiiflora (Montbretia)

Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Ixioideae
Tribe: Ixieae
Genus: Crocosmia
Species: C. × crocosmiiflora
Binomial name: Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora
Common name: Montbretia

Montbretia is a garden hybrid of C. aurea and C. pottsii two plants of the genus Crocosmia and was first bred by Victor Lemoine in 1880.  It is a plant with soft sword-shaped leaves and grows from perennial corms. It has attractive bright red-orange flowers in summer. The fruit turn yellow-orange.  Montbretia reproduces from corms that are often spread in garden rubbish. It often forms large colonies along roadsides and streams.

A bank covered in Montbretia[1]

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Montbretia growing on the side of the Te Henui Stream

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Montbretia dominating the ground cover
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Growing cormes.
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Sprouting seeds and old cormes.
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Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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