Purplish-Blue Delights Waving in the Breeze
During a recent six-mile hike in Julington-Durbin-Preserve in S.E. Jacksonville, I stopped suddenly, next to a prescribed burn area, noticing over 100 thin stemmed, six petaled bluish purple flowers swaying in the breeze. Gathering my thoughts, the tumblers in my brain lined up to think “Bartram’s Ixia”! Calydorea caelestina in an Endemic, Endangered Iris that only grows in 8 counties in Zones 9a and 8b in Northeastern Florida. This Ixia’s habitat includes wet to mesic pine flatwoods that are maintained by prescribed fires. This short-lived perennial blooms in the spring. The flowers open early around sunrise then close within a few hours. Named after William Bartram who discovered the Ixia during his Florida travels in 1774. Blog and Photos by Ixia Chapter member Bill Berthet