Authors: Molina  

Botanical Description

Alophia lahue). 10-20cm in height. Leaves narrowly sword-shaped, erect, somewhat pleated. Flowers blue-violet, several produced in succession from green spathes, about 3-5cm in diameter, iris-like, with three large spreading outer segments and three much smaller inner ones, together forming a cup in the centre which is conspicuously blue-blotched on a white ground. Three subspecies have been recognised, subsp. lahue, subsp. amoena and subsp. caerulea but there is little to choose between them. The first two are from Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, subsp. caerulea is a North American plant from Texas and Louisiana.