Libertia

Libertia is a genus of monocotyledonous plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1824. It is native to South America, Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand. Eight species are endemic to New Zealand. Libertia is made up of herbaceous or evergreen perennials growing from short rhizomes, with simple, linear or narrowly lanceolate basal leaves which are often green but may be red, orange, or yellow under direct sunlight. The showy white or blue trimerous flowers are open in spring and are followed by capsules opening by three valves which contain the numerous seeds. The genus was named after the Belgian botanist Marie-Anne Libert (1782–1865) (also referred to as Anne-Marie Libert). The species Libertia chilensis has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Species Libertia chilensis (Molina) Gunckel - central + southern Chile, southern Argentina, Juan Fernández Islands Libertia colombiana R.C.Foster - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia Libertia c......read more on Wikipedia.