Sparaxis, commonly known as harlequin flowers, is a genus of about 13 species of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (order Asparagales). All species are endemic to Cape Province in South Africa, making the genus a characteristic element of the Cape Floristic Region.
All members of the genus are cormous perennials adapted to a Mediterranean-type climate. They grow actively during the cool, wet winter season, flower in spring, and then die back to dormant underground corms that survive the dry summer heat. The flowers bear six tepals that, in most species, are roughly equal in size and shape, producing the symmetrical star-like blooms responsible for the "harlequin" common name. Flower colours range from cream and yellow through purple to vivid red, often with contrasting centres.
Notable species include Sparaxis tricolor, which bears striking red flowers with bold yellow and black centres, and Sparaxis bulbifera, with blooms ranging from cream to yellow or purple. Sparaxis grandiflora is a larger-flowered species that has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit for garden performance in the UK. A subset of species — including Sparaxis variegata and Sparaxis villosa — produce asymmetrical flowers marked in mauve and yellow and were formerly segregated into the genus Synnotia; they are now included within Sparaxis. Many ornamental hybrid cultivars have been bred primarily from S. bulbifera and S. tricolor.
Etymology
The genus name Sparaxis is derived from the Greek word sparasso, meaning "to tear", an allusion to the torn or lacerated appearance of the floral bracts at the base of each flower.
Distribution
All species of Sparaxis are endemic to the Cape Province of South Africa, a global biodiversity hotspot forming part of the Cape Floristic Region. The genus is well adapted to the region's winter-rainfall Mediterranean climate, with no species native outside southern Africa.
Cultivation
Sparaxis species and their hybrids — especially S. tricolor and S. bulbifera — are widely grown as garden ornamentals in temperate regions. Corms are planted in autumn in free-draining soil in a sunny position; they flower in spring and are lifted or left dry over summer in climates with wet summers. Sparaxis grandiflora holds the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit for reliable garden performance.
