Matthew Kispert New Crops Paper Hort 5051, Spring 2013 Tigridia pavonia

Taxonomy:

Tigridia pavonia is an herbaceous perennial in the Iridaceae family and is commonly known as the Tiger or Shell Flower due to the characteristic spotted markings on the flowers (Bailey 1909.)

Geographic Distribution:

Native to North and Central America, Tigridia pavonia is found predominately in Mexico Guatemala and the southern United States (Bailey 1909) between 15o N and 300 N latitude.

Native Habitat:

The flowers grow native in pine and oak forests around 2500m above sea level, preferring the slightly sandy soils, dry conditions, and full sun exposure offered in those environments (Huxley 1992, L2G 2013.) As of this writing T. pavonia has not been found to be invasive.

Taxonomic Description:

Bearing many characteristics typical of an iris, T. pavonnia is an erect plant, standing 1 ½ to 2 ½ ft. tall. The leaves are long, sword-shaped, hairless, and strongly plicate. The triangular epigynous inflorescence have a saucer style base, bearing three large pointed inferior petals opposite three smaller fiddle shaped superior petals. The inflorescences can grow quite large, reaching up to 5 inches across. The petals can be found in a variety of colors and often bear a striking mottled pattern on the inner, saucer portion. The flowers begin opening mid-summer sequentially with each inflorescence only lasting one day. Mature plants produce a dense fibrous root system, eventually developing a corm at the base of the hypocotyl (Bailey 1909.) This corm is edible when cooked (Hedrick 1972) tastes like a sweet potato and is thought to promote fertility (PFF 2012) although scientific research on this claim has yet to be performed.

Current Market Status:

T. pavonia is currently sold in either bulb or seed form in mixed lots with colors usually undefined. Different seeds from the same plant can produce different colored blooms (PBS 2013.)

Propagation Methods:

Propagation is easiest performed through vegetative means by the separation of budding corms. Corms should be planted after threat of last frost has passed and removed in early fall prior to the first frost. Once unearthed, the corms should be allowed to dry and then stored in a cool, dry location overwinter until next year’s planting (Baxter 1836.) Propagation from seed should occur indoors in early march. No seed dormancy requirements have been observed. Seeds should be sown in plug trays using a premade germination mix and covered with a fine dusting of vermiculite. Although darkness is not obligatory for germination, this study showed an increased germination percentage when seeds were covered. Trays should be maintained in a greenhouse at 21oC with a relative humidity above 80%. Germination occurs in approximately 4-5 weeks. Mature seedlings can be transplanted to 4” pots or bigger and maintained in a greenhouse environment for the first year until a proper corm develops (Baxter 1836, PFF 2012.)

Product Specifications:

Ideal plants should be tall and erect, with long stems, well-formed leaves and bright flowers. Warm growing environments produce flowers with the brightest colors (Bailey 1909.)

Market Niche:

The over plant height and manner make this iris an ideal bedding plant. Despite the stem length, the sequential way in which the single day flowers open limits this plants use as a cut flower. The long germination and juvenile period of at least one year limits the marketability of this plant in seed form. Plants are best sold as bulbs alongside other irises in mixed bulb pans or as single bulbs. The short lived flowers make this plant more of a mid-summer novelty plant than a season long showing. This plant will likely compete with other tall, colorful, bedding plants like Salpiglosis and other irises but once again the short-lived flowers will limit it to a punctuated accent in a garden design. The unique floral display paired with its Central American native habitat will allow this plant to be marketed as an exotic addition to any garden bed and will surely serve as a conversation starter for those fortunate enough to bear witness to the mid-morning floral display. Given its close relation to other well-known and established irises, T. pavonia should have no trouble being marketed to those already familiar with bulb plantings and maintenance. The relative ease of germination from seed should allow this product to be available as a bulb as early as next spring in its current wild type.

Anticipated Cultural Requirements:

T. pavonia can be grown as a perennial in winter hardiness zones 8-10, and performs best in warm environments under full sun in slightly sandy soils (L2G 2013.) Nutritional requirements and soil pH has not been investigated but likely should prior to commercialization. As of this writing drought tolerance and photoperiod response have not been investigated. Since height is a desirable characteristic of this product, the use of plant growth regulators is likely not needed. Seeds are best started in 144 plug trays with seedlings transferred to 6” pots to allow the development the corm. Mature plants can be maintained in bulb pans. As of this writing no major diseases were documented as being problematic although the susceptibility to other Iridaceae bulb diseases should be investigated.

Production Schedule:

The following is based on information gleaned from a trial sowing of 144 seeds of an undefined cultivar of T. pavonia; Given a lack of consensus on germination requirements, the 144 seeds were divided into 4 groups of 36 each. Groups A and B were sown in half of a 144 plug tray containing prepared seed germination mix. Groups C and D were sown in the other half of the tray containing sand over perlite. Groups A and D were left uncovered, groups B and C were covered with a light layer of fine vermiculite. The tray was placed in a mist house maintained at 21oC with relative humidity above 90%.

Germination took approximately 5 weeks from sowing to cotyledon emergence regardless of the supplied growing conditions. Group B, germ mix covered, yielded the highest germination percentage at 94%. Group C, sand covered, gave the second highest at 83%, with groups A and D yielding the lowest germ percentages of 50% and 33% respectively. T. pavonia has a facultative affinity towards darkness for germination. Plants grown from seed will likely fair better if maintained in pots for the first year of growth until a proper corm develops for transplant to beds. The literature varies on the time required for flower bud initiation from seed, although the general consensus is that flowering occurs initially in the second year of growth from seed (PFF 2012). [Instructor Note: These seedlings flowered later in the first year, during weeks 26-30]. Flowering begins mid-summer and can last throughout, with each flower lasting only one day. Given the relatively slow growth of the species, no special plant growth regulators are anticipated. Target sales dates should be late spring in bulb pans for planting after first frost.

Needs Assessment for Genetic Improvement:

The wild type plant can be found in a variety of colors ranging from white through a varying of shades of red, orange, and yellow with plants grown from the same seed source often showcasing different colors (PBS 2013.) This might be considered a desirable trait to some but prior to marketing, work could be done to develop specific color cultivars. Disease and drought tolerance should also be investigated as this species could perform as an alternate tall bedding plant to similar mannered disease susceptible irises. Literature Cited

Bailey, L.H. 1909. Tigridia, p. 1806-1807. In: Cyclopedia of American Horticulture. Vol. IV-R-Z. The Macmillan Company. New York.

Baxter, John. 1836. Tigridia, p. 238-239. In: Baxter’s Agricultural and Horticultural Gleaner. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. Stationers’ Court: Baxter and Son, Lewes. London.

Hedrick, U.P.Stutevert, E. Lewis. 1972. Tigridia, p. 650. In: Sturtevant’s Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications. Ebook, The Southwest School of Botanical Medicine 13 April 2013.

Learn 2 Grow (L2G) 2013. Tigridia pavonia. 15 March 2013.

Pacific Bulb Society (PBS) 2013. Tigridia Two, Tigridia pavonia. 22 April 2013. < http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/TigridiaTwo>

Plants For a Future (PFF) 2012. Tigridia pavonia. 12 May 2013.