Bulbil Watsonia - introduced (*Watsonia meriana 'Bulbillifera')

Family: Iridaceae (Iris family).

Native of South Africa.

Occurrence: Scattered occurrence. Elsewhere in Victoria it grows in profusion.

Identification:

• it has salmon-pink to red trumpet-shaped flowers on erect stems
• small bulbils are produced along the stem, below the flowers
• it grows to about 1 metre high.

It is a proclaimed noxious weed in Victoria and Regionally restricted in central Victoria.

Several corms are produced from the parent corm each year. Reproduction is from the corms, or from the bulbils. Mechanical disturbance encourages growth from the dormant corms.

Photo 1: Bulbils below the spent flowers. Each bulbil can produce a new plant. Fryerstown Cemetery. 2: Flowers. Taradale.
3, 4: Colour variations. Castlemaine Botanic Gardens and Elphinstone. 5: Taradale.
6: Dense Watsonia. Fryerstown Cemetery.