Tiger-flower

Tiger-flower (Tigridia), a genus of plants of the natural order Iridaceæ. There are about seven known species, natives of Mexico, Peru, and Chili, all bulbous plants, generally treated as half-hardy or greenhouse plants. The flowers are few, enclosed in a spathe. The perianth has a short tube with a six-parted spreading limb; there are three stamens united in a cylinder, a three-celled ovary with a filiform style which has three filiform bifid stigmas. The best known of the species in British gardens is T. pavonia, which has been cultivated for nearly 100 years for the beauty of its rather evanescent flowers. The flowers are orange, spotted tiger-like, hence the name.