Description:

• Deciduous perennials
• Rootstock a depressed globose corm rooting from below, those of past seasons often not resorbed, basal in origin, producing thin rhizomes from base in some species, tunics firm-papery, sometimes becoming fibrous with age
• Stem aerial, terete, rarely ridged, simple or branched, sometimes repeatedly and then strongly flexuose
• Leaves several, lower 2 or 3 cataphylls; foliage leaves unifacial, usually with a definite midrib composed of more than one pair of veins, mostly basal and forming a distichous fan, blades lanceolate to sword-shaped, or plicate with several equal veins, cauline leaves few and reduced
• Inflorescence a spike, flowers distichous or secund, usually many and crowded, sometimes strongly flexuose; bracts small, green, becoming dry at tips, firm-textured, inner ± as long as outer and notched apically
• Flowers zygomorphic and funnel-shaped to tubular or actinomorphic, hypocrateriform and nodding, shades of orange to red, lower tepals sometimes with contrasting markings, unscented, with nectar from septal nectaries; perianth tube cylindric or funnel-shaped, widening gradually and flared or tubular above
• Tepals equal or unequal and dissimilar, then dorsal largest
• Stamens unilateral and arcuate or symmetrically disposed and central; filaments arising at base of throat, included to well exserted; anthers parallel, subversatile; pollen monosulcate, operculate, exine perforate
• Style exserted, ascending or horizontal, branches filiform or expanded apically, sometimes notched apically
• Capsules globose, coriaceous, often warty above, sometimes reddish to orange on inside
• Seeds globose, usually 2 per locule, brown or blackish, shiny and smooth when fresh, coat at least sometimes fleshy and wrinkled on drying, surface laevigate, raphal vascular trace excluded
• x = 11

Classification Notes:

• Crocosmia is closely allied to Chasmanthe and both are allied to Tritonia, a genus which differs in having softer-walled capsules with several small, hard seeds per locule and often 1 or more of the lower tepals with a prominent tooth-like callus

Nomenclature:

• Crocosmia Planch.
  • Planchon: 161 (1851)
  • De Vos: 474 (1984)
  • Goldblatt & Manning: 59 (1990)
  • De Vos: 129 (1999)
• Curtonus N.E.Br.
  • Brown: 270 (1932)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species 9, mostly SE Africa, 1 endemic in Namaqualand (Northern Cape) and 1 endemic in Madagascar (Goldblatt & Manning 1990); mostly in grassland or forest margins
• Southern Africa: The Namaqualand species in shade in riverine scrub

Additional Notes:

• The species with short-tubed flowers are pollinated by long-tongued bees while those with long-tubed flowers are pollinated by sunbirds