Tigridia ,Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607 is a genus of bulbous or cormous flowering plants belonging to the family Iridaceae. With common names including peacock flowers, tiger flowers, jaguar flowers,Davidse, G., M. Sousa Sánchez & A.O. Chater. 1994. Alismataceae a Cyperaceae. 6: i–xvi, 1–543. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez & A.O. Chater (eds.) Fl. Mesoamer.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D. F. or shell flowers, they have large showy flowers; and one species, Tigridia pavonia, is often cultivated for this. The approximately 60 species in this family grow in the Americas, from Mexico down to Chile.
The tigridia flower is short lived, each often blooming for only one day, but often several flowers will bloom from the same stalk. Usually they are dormant during the winter dry-season. The roots are edible and were eaten by the Aztecs of Mexico who called it cacomitl, and its flower ocēlōxōchitl meaning "jaguar flower".
It was first published by French botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in his book Genera plantarum on page 57 in 1789.
The genus name Tigridia means "tiger-like", and alludes to the coloration and spotting of the flowers of the type species Tigridia pavonia.Idárraga-Piedrahita, A., R. D. C. Ortiz, R. Callejas Posada & M. Merello. (eds.) 2011. Flora de Antioquia: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares 2: 9–939. Universidad de Antioquia, MedellínStandley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1952. Iridaceae. In Flora of Guatemala - Part III. Fieldiana, Botany 24(3): 159–178
Species There are 60 species accepted by Plants of the World Online;
Tigridia albicans Ravenna - Tacna Province in Peru Tigridia alpestris Molseed - Mexico Tigridia amatlanensis Aarón Rodr. & García-Mend - Oaxaca Tigridia arequipensis Tigridia augusta Drapiez - central + southern Mexico Tigridia azufresensis Tigridia bicolor Molseed - Oaxaca Tigridia catarinensis Cruden - San Luis Potosí Tigridia chiapensis Molseed ex Cruden - Chiapas Tigridia chrysantha Cruden & S.J.Walker ex McVaugh - Jalisco Tigridia citrina Tigridia coerulea Tigridia convoluta (Ravenna) Goldblatt - Oaxaca Tigridia conzattii (R.C.Foster) Goldblatt - Oaxaca Tigridia dugesii S.Watson - Jalisco Tigridia durangensis Molseed ex Cruden - Durango Tigridia ehrenbergii (Schltdl.) Molseed - Mexico Tigridia estelae López-Ferr. & Espejo - Durango Tigridia flammea (Lindl.) Ravenna - Michoacán Tigridia fosteri Tigridia galanthoides Molseed - southern Mexico Tigridia gracielae Aarón Rodr. & Ortiz-Cat. - México State Tigridia hallbergii Molseed - central + southern Mexico, Guatemala Tigridia heliantha Tigridia hintonii Molseed - Guerrero Tigridia huajuapanensis Molseed ex Cruden - Oaxaca Tigridia huyanae (J.F.Macbr.) Ravenna - Lima Province in Peru Tigridia immaculata (Herb.) Ravenna - Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guatemala Tigridia inusitata (Cruden) Ravenna - Guerrero Tigridia latifolia Tigridia longispatha Tigridia lutea - Lima and Ancash provinces of Peru Tigridia mariaetrinitatis Espejo & López-Ferr. - Oaxaca Tigridia martinezii Calderón - Hidalgo Tigridia matudae Molseed - México State Tigridia meleagris (Lindl.) G.Nicholson - central + southern Mexico, Guatemala Tigridia mexicana Molseed - central + southern Mexico Tigridia minuta Ravenna - Apurímac + Ayacucho Provinces in Peru Tigridia molseediana Ravenna - Oaxaca, Guatemala Tigridia mortonii Molseed - México State Tigridia multiflora (Baker) Ravenna - central + southern Mexico Tigridia nanchititlensis Tigridia oaxacana (Molseed) Goldblatt - Oaxaca Tigridia orthantha (Lem.) Ravenna - Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guatemala Tigridia pavonia (L.f.) Redouté - Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras Tigridia pearcei (Baker) Ravenna - Huánuco region in Peru Tigridia philippiana I.M.Johnst. - Tarapacá + Antofagasta Provinces in Chile Tigridia potosina López-Ferr. & Espejo - San Luis Potosí Tigridia pugana Aarón Rodr. & Ortiz-Cat. - Jalisco Tigridia pulchella B.L.Rob. - Jalisco, Michoacán Tigridia purpusii Molseed - Puebla and northern Oaxaca Tigridia purruchucana (Herb.) Ravenna - Lima Province in Peru Tigridia raimondii Ravenna - Arequipa Province in Peru Tigridia rzedowskiana Aarón Rodr. & Ortiz-Cat. - Querétaro Tigridia seleriana (Loes.) Ravenna - Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guatemala Tigridia suarezii Aarón Rodr. & Ortiz-Cat. - Jalisco Tigridia tepoxtlana Ravenna - Morelos Tigridia tuitensis Tigridia vanhouttei(Baker) Espejo & López-Ferr - central + northeastern Mexico Tigridia venusta Cruden - Michoacán
Hybrids Several hybrids exist, including; Tigridia × mathewii , first published in Phytoneuron 2015-53: 4 in 2015. It is an artificial hybrid, a cross of T. orthantha × T. pavonia.
Distribution They are native to the countries (and regions) of; northern Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Peru.
They have been introduced into: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Madeira.
References
Other sources Rodriguez, A. and K. Sytsma. 2006. Phylogeny of the "Tiger-flower" group (Tigrideae: Iridaceae): Molecular and morphological evidence. Pp. 412–424, in J.T. Columbus, E.A. Friar, J.M. Porter, L.M. Prince and M.G. Simpson (eds.). Monocots: Comparative Biology and Evolution, Vol. 1. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont.