White African Iris is one of many common names for the beautiful lily you see in the picture to the right.
More properly called the Dietes Iridioies or the Dietes Vegeta White, you may know it as the Cape Iris, Fortnight Lily or just plain Wild Iris.
There's even a yellow version with 3 purple spots that's affectionately called the Peacock Flower or the Butterfly Lily.
The plant forms large fan-shaped clumps of sword-shaped evergreen foliage from rhizomes that spread easily underground. Foliage can be as much as 2' long.
The flowers are borne on stiff 2-4' tall stalks waving above the foliage and last one full day. The showy white petals have striking yellow and purple-blue markings in the center. Bulbous three-sided seed pods quickly form, bending nearly to ground from the weight of the seeds. They make a great border plant or a strong vertical accent in an English Cottage Garden.
Flowering begins mid-spring and continues profusely until late summer or even fall. Blooming repeats on the same plants, usually about two weeks apart. Since two weeks is a 'fortnight', this is where the nickname "Fortnight Lily" came from.
African Iris prefers full sun to partial shade. This is an easy care perennial for zones 8-10. It tolerates poor, dry soil well, but flourishes even better with a little tlc and some water. Rhizomes can be divided in the fall if desired. Often an established planting will easily re-seed itself as well.
The White African Iris really does come from Africa. It's native habitat stretches along the east coast of Africa all the way from the cape to Ethiopia, touching the southern tip of Nile River.