Moraea gigandra

This is supposedly the largest of the "Peacock" Moraeas, and it blooms slightly later than most of its cousins (April in San Jose, CA). Honeybees in California are strongly attracted to this plant (they like purple flowers), but they don't seem to know what to do with it once they arrive. They wander around for a bit and then fly away. The anthers are held so far above the base of the flower that the bees don't pollinate them. In South Africa, botanists say, these flowers are pollinated by pollen-eating beetles. The color pattern in the flower apparently looks a bit like a beetle that's ready for love (at least, it looks that way to another beetle).

These bulbs are native to bulb zone D3 (link). Think Fowlers Bay, Australia; Mendocino, CA; or Izmir, Turkey.

The plants you usually see in commerce are purple with a black fuzzy center and a narrow blue eye (or "nectar guide," as the botanists call it). Here's the typical form:

Among some plants I received from a friend, there's a second form, even larger than the typical one. It's paler purple and has almost no blue eye. Instead, there's a white ring around the center. (The one you see in this photo had just opened; after a day in the sun they fade to a much lighter color than the typical form).

In the past I've occasionally had some strange M. gigangra flowers that bloomed one year and then did not reappear. I do not know if they were one-time chimeras, or plants that died after blooming.  This one looks a bit like the white ring form, but with even more reduced eyes:

This one had very distinctive pointed tepals. They remind me a bit of a North American wildflower, Calochortus lyallii. Unfortunately, I've never seen this flower again, and I lost track of which pot had this bulb.

According to Goldblatt's book on Moraeas, M. gigandra also occurs in white and orange forms. I've never seen them in commerce or photos. If you have, please post a comment.