Watsonia - Bugle Lily

Watsonia (Bugle Lily) is a genus of plants in the iris family, subfamily Crocoideae, native to South Africa. The genus is named after Sir William Watson, a British botanist.

There are 52 species in southern Africa; all are perennial herbs growing from corms and producing erect spikes of showy flowers, and are adapted to a mediterranean-type climate.

The most common species in cultivation is the pink-flowered Watsonia borbonica and its white mutant 'Arderne's White'. These were crossed with Watsonia meriana and other species in the early 20th century by breeders including John Cronin in Australia and Luther Burbank in California to produce a wide range of cultivars. Watsonia has been eclipsed in popularity by Gladiolus and other bulbs, and is now neglected by the nursery industry.

In the South-West of Western Australia, six species have become naturalised from garden escapes along rivers, wetlands and seasonally wet ground. In places Watsonia spp. have displaced native understorey flora; concentrations of them create a fire hazard in summer.


Species
Watsonia transvaalensis
Watsonia versfeldii
Watsonia angusta
Watsonia bachmannii
Watsonia bella
Watsonia borbonica
Watsonia canaliculata
Watsonia coccinea
Watsonia confusa
Watsonia lepida
Watsonia marginata
Watsonia marlothii
Watsonia meriana
Watsonia vanderspuyiae
Watsonia minima
Watsonia emiliae
Watsonia fergusoniae
Watsonia fourcadei
Watsonia galpinii
Watsonia amabilis
Watsonia amatolae
Watsonia densiflora
Watsonia hysterantha
Watsonia aletroides
Watsonia dubia
Watsonia elsiae
Watsonia inclinata
Watsonia knysnana
Watsonia rourkei
Watsonia schlechteri
Watsonia spectabilis
Watsonia stenosiphon
Watsonia watsonioides
Watsonia wilmaniae
Watsonia distans
Watsonia laccata
Watsonia latifolia
Watsonia stokoei
Watsonia strictiflora
Watsonia strubeniae
Watsonia tabularis
Watsonia mtamvunae
Watsonia occulta
Watsonia paucifolia
Watsonia pillansii
Watsonia pondoensis
Watsonia pulchra
Watsonia rogersii
Watsonia gladioloides
Watsonia humilis
Watsonia wilmsii
Watsonia zeyheri

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