Common name: Tricolor Harlequin Flower
Sparaxis tricolor (Schneev.) Ker Gawl. APNI* 
Description: Herb 10–30 cm high; corm 10–20 mm diam.
Leaves 5–10, linear to oblanceolate, 8–20 cm long, 5–15 mm wide, acute; bulbils few in lowermost leaf axils.
Scape unbranched; spike flexuous, 2–5-flowered; spathe bracts 2.3–2.8 cm long, lanceolate, acute, shallowly lacerate at tip, minutely flecked red-brown. Perianth broadly funnel-shaped; tube c. 8 mm long, bright yellow; lobes oblanceolate to lanceolate, 25–30 mm long, c. 10 mm wide, orange to dark red, internally all with dark blotch above bright yellow tube. Stamens regularly spaced around style. Style erect, not exceeding anthers; branches cuneate, 1–2 mm long, yellow.
Fruit not seen.
Flowering: August–October
Distribution and occurrence: Grows along roadsides, and on vacant land and disturbed bushland; naturalized locally in the Sydney region and possibly naturalised around Albury. Native of NW Cape Province, S. Afr.
NSW subdivisions: *CC, *SWS
Other Australian states: *Vic. *W.A. *S.A.
Text by T. A. James & E. A. Brown (1993); edited KL Wilson (Jan 2014)
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 4 (1993)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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