which place the bulbs here figured are natives. But it must be borne in mind that Port Natal 
is on the Eastern side of the Continent, where the rains are much more copious than on the 
West Coast, where Groenekloof is situated. To this cause may perhaps be attributed the greater 
hardihood of the Natal bulbs; for in the moist climate of England —if protected from frost — 
they find an atmosphere more congenial to them than do the plants of the West Coast of 
South Africa. In cultivating Cape bulbs in this Country it is necessary that they should have 
perfect rest for the great part of the year, during which time water must be withheld, while light 
and heat are freely admitted. Without regular care of this kind these Cape Iridee are of little 
value and wholly unornamental, for they waste their strength in the continual production of 
leaves and die of atrophy at last. 
The bulbs of many, indeed of most, of the Ixias are edible, and regularly brought to the 
Capetown markets. They contain a large amount of starch, and when boiled or roasted and 
served as chesnuts, are not unpalatable. Some are acrid, and on that account cannot be used. 
The genus Babiana is so named because its roots are eaten, as well as those of others of the 
order, by. the Baboons that inhabit the rocky clefts of the Cape Mountains. 
