(Carolina Mosquito Fern)

Native to much of the eastern half of North America, Carolina mosquito fern is a tiny, feather aquatic fern that floats on the surface of still ponds and lake edges. Populations also extend down into Mexico and Central America. Its tiny fronds are bright green, often with a reddish or purplish-red hue. It's hard to believe this aquatic, floating plant is in fact a miniscule fern. It is free-floating and may be adapted to fresh or brackish water.

Carolina mosquito fern thrives in pools with full...

A charming little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana ambigua is grown for its late-winter and early-spring display of fragrant blue flowers. It is native to sandy habitats in the South and West Cape regions of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low fans of slender, lance-shaped leaves that are hairy and weakly pleated. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried corms with fibrous "tunics." The violet-scented, 2-inch-wide,...

A charming little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana fragrans is grown for its mid- to late-winter display of sweet-scented blooms. It is native to sandstone slopes and ledges in the West Cape region of South Africa. This species was formerly known as Babiana disticha and Babiana plicata.

This member of the iris family produces low, sparse clumps of hairy, pleated, dagger-shaped leaves. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply...

(Dwarf Baboon Flower)

A charming little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana nana is grown for its late-winter and early-spring display of showy, fragrant flowers. It is native to sandy coastal habitats in the southern and western Cape regions of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low fans of erect, lance-shaped leaves that are hairy and weakly pleated. Compact, few-flowered spikes of 2-inch-wide (5-cm), violet-scented, six-"petaled" flowers appear in late winter...

The largest-flowered Babiana (despite its botanical name), Babiana pygmaea is grown for its late-winter to early-spring display of showy yellow blooms. This tender perennial "bulb" is native to gravelly soils in the Southwest Cape region of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low fans of hairy, pleated, sword-shaped leaves. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried corms with fibrous "tunics." The unscented, 3-inch-wide, bowl-shaped blooms...

(Rat's Tail, Rat's Tail Babiana)

This native of the South and West Cape regions of South Africa is distinguished from other Babiana by its red flowers borne on low horizontal side-branches of an otherwise naked flower spike. In the wild this species inhabits sandy plains in areas of shrubby vegetation known as fynbos.

This member of the iris family produces low clumps of upright, narrowly lance-shaped, almost awl-shaped leaves that are conspicuously pleated. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried...

(Baboon Flower)

A flamboyant little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana rubrocyanea is grown for its late-winter and early-spring display of large, deep-blue, red-eyed blooms. It is native to sandy scrubland habitats in the Southwest Cape region of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low fans of hairy, pleated, sword-shaped leaves. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried corms with fibrous "tunics." The unscented, 2-inch-wide, bowl-shaped...

(Baboon Flower)

This appealing South African flowering "bulb" is highly variable producing purple, blue, white or yellow flowers: all with very dark anthers. In its natural habitat, this spring bloomer exists on clay-rich scrubland known as renosterveld. It is a hybrid parent to many cultivated baboon flowers and is less commonly sold as a species bulb.

In midwinter, small fans of pleated bright green leaves are produced from deeply buried, globular corms. The sword-shaped leaves remain in a neat rosette....

A charming little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana tubulosa is grown for its late-winter and early-spring display of starry, long-tubed white flowers. It is native to sandy habitats in the South and West Cape regions of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low fans of narrow, hairy, pleated leaves. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried corms with fibrous "tunics." The 2-inch-wide (5-cm), unscented, snow-white to creamy-white...

A showy little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana villosa is grown for its late-winter and early-spring display of pink or red, unscented blooms. It is native to clay-rich scrublands ("renosterveld") of the West Cape region of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low, sparse clumps of hairy, pleated, sword-shaped leaves. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried corms with fibrous "tunics." The 2-inch-wide (5-cm), cup-shaped,...