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Botanical Description

Roots not fleshy. Stems to 60cm or more tall, somewhat flattened and narrowly winged. Leaves shorter, in iris-likefans, 1.2-1.8cm wide, grey-green. Inflorescence a spike of cymose clusters. Flowers pale yellow veined brownish-purple, about 2.5cm across, summer. Chile: from the central provinces to Araucania, from coastal fields to 2500m in the Andes. S.s. 'Aunt May' (syn. 'Variegatum') has the leaves boldly cream-striped. A handsome, vigorous clump-forming species more at home in the border than the rock garden. In the past there has been some confusion with S. pachyrhizum, q.v.