Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora Montbretia (C. aurea x pottsii)

One of our most common non-native species which almost exclusively originates as a garden throw-out. It is well known to most people and is commonly grown in gardens where it often becomes a nuissance, outgrowing its welcome and then dug up and thrown out. It produces dense clumps of iris-like leaves and unbranched stems that produce orange-red, zygomorphic, tubular flowers. It establishes itself quickly and naturalised populations spread rapidly as a result of agressive rhizomatous growth from its corms. The parents of this hybrid are native to South Africa and it was first recorded wild in Britain in 1907, in Scotland. It is now established throughout most of Britain and Ireland. It is common in Wales and found in most parts of West Glamorgan, but less commonly in Gower. The corms contain a number of potent antioxidants such as saponins, phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids.

Neophyte