# Barbary-nut

*Moraea sisyrinchium*

The flowers are incredibly punctual, opening only during the warm afternoon hours and closing tightly by dusk.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Liliopsida › Asparagales › Iridaceae › Moraea
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Dry grasslands, garrigue, rocky hillsides, pastures, and sandy coastal areas.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (produces energy via photosynthesis using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide).
- **Range:** Southern Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Southwestern Asia
- **Size:** 10 to 40 cm in height
- **Lifespan:** Perennial (corm regenerates annually for many years)
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Urbanization, coastal tourism development, and intensive agricultural land conversion.
- **Safe to approach?:** This plant is harmless to touch but toxic if ingested. Observe its fleeting blooms from a safe distance. Do not dig up the corms. If consumed by pets or humans, seek medical or veterinary attention immediately.

## About

Moraea sisyrinchium (syn. Gynandriris sisyrinchium ), the Barbary Nut , is a species of flowering plant, a dwarf iris, in the genus Moraea , native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean region.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/1025ccb5-f948-45d6-8427-cd6c8111d5b4
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/82936
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moraea sisyrinchium
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/483834496/medium.jpg (zebedeugalinha, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.