Flowers are the ultimate expression of nature’s beauty. Over millions of years, they’ve evolved colorful patterns, intricate shapes, and enticing fragrances to attract pollinators—including humans, who have been selectively breeding them for millennia to enhance their beauty.
In fact, the first known flower cultivated for its aesthetics may have been the lotus or chrysanthemum in ancient China or India, over 2,000 years ago. Tulips were bred in the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s and later became iconic in the Netherlands. Orchids, of course, might be the most spectacular of all, with their staggering diversity and often surreal forms.
What’s your favorite flower? Mine is Ferraria crispa, also known as the Starfish Iris. The flowers of Ferraria crispa can only be described as psychedelic.
Their fleshy texture, bizarre ruffled edges, and mottled coloring give them a wild, otherworldly vibe—like something Salvador Dalí might have painted. They’re also scent chameleons: some smell sweet and vanilla-like, while others are distinctly putrid.
At first, I assumed this difference was genetic—some clones evolved to attract bees, others to lure flies. But I’ve since observed the same plant switching from a putrid scent to a sweet one, which suggests a more complex mechanism is at play.
Ferraria crispa is native to South Africa’s Western and Northern Cape provinces, where it thrives in Mediterranean-type climates with wet winters and dry summers. These plants grow from bulbs and do well outdoors in regions like California. They begin growing in fall, bloom in early spring, and typically go dormant in summer. But I have one clone that never goes fully dormant when planted in large pots. It does go dormant when planted in the ground. This clone flowered throughout the summer for me. I using this plant as a parent in crosses to enhance this trait.
I’m currently breeding Ferraria crispa using a combination of phenotypic selection and Mendelian breeding, and I have a large batch of two-year-old seedlings just beginning to flower. My goals are to develop novel color combinations and extend the growing season. I’ll be offering corms from one of my parental plants (pictured at the top) starting this fall. These plants require full sun and a frost-free climate—they don’t do well indoors.
