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Tigridia pavonia

Mexican Shellflower · Peacock-flower · Tiger-flower

Family IridaceaeGenus Tigridia

A rain-beaded cream flower with three broad outer petals around a crimson cup spotted white and orange, its green column standing at the center.
FlowerThis illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / CC-BY-SA-3.0CC BY-SA 3.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
bulbous geophytePlants of the World Online
Flower
Cream, crimsonRead from the photograph on this page
Native range
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast and elsewhereGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Read from the photograph on this page — Deno's Garden; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • The Aztecs called it ocēlōxōchitl, jaguar flower. Its roasted bulbs are edible, with a chestnut-like flavor, and were eaten by Indigenous peoples of Mexico. Wikipedia: Tigridia pavonia

This source reports 4 treatments. All are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 1, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: light

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 35 days to germinate.

78% germination in 14–35 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Tigridia p. 221Public domain
Show the original text
Tigridia (lridaceae). T. pavonia germ. 70L(78% in 2-5 w), 70D(50% in 2-6 w), 40(22% in 10-12 w)-70(35% in 1-4 w), and 4/6 in May in outdoor treatment..
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Tigridia p. 221. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

  1. Sow outdoors and leave it

    Up in May.

No stated waiting before sowing.

67% germination.

This source doesn't state how long step 1 lasts.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Tigridia p. 221Public domain
Show the original text
Tigridia (lridaceae). T. pavonia germ. 70L(78% in 2-5 w), 70D(50% in 2-6 w), 40(22% in 10-12 w)-70(35% in 1-4 w), and 4/6 in May in outdoor treatment..
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Tigridia p. 221. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 3

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around February 22, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: dark

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 42 days to germinate.

50% germination in 14–42 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Tigridia p. 221Public domain
Show the original text
Tigridia (lridaceae). T. pavonia germ. 70L(78% in 2-5 w), 70D(50% in 2-6 w), 40(22% in 10-12 w)-70(35% in 1-4 w), and 4/6 in May in outdoor treatment..
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Tigridia p. 221. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 4

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around December 8, 2026 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

    22 germinated in this phase.

  2. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

about 3 months from start to step 2. Germination happens during step 2, in 28 days.

35% germination in 7–28 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Tigridia p. 221Public domain
Show the original text
Tigridia (lridaceae). T. pavonia germ. 70L(78% in 2-5 w), 70D(50% in 2-6 w), 40(22% in 10-12 w)-70(35% in 1-4 w), and 4/6 in May in outdoor treatment..
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Tigridia p. 221. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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