{{Short description|Species of plant in the iris family}} {{Speciesbox | image = Tigridia pavonia flower.jpg | image_caption = A yellow-flowered form | genus = Tigridia | species = pavonia | authority = (L.f.) Redouté<ref name = IPNI>{{IPNI|id=441553-1|taxon=Tigridia pavonia|access-date=2 August 2021}}</ref> | synonyms = {{Collapsible list | {{Plainlist | style = margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; | * ''Beatonia grandiflora'' (Cav.) Klatt * ''Beatonia lutea'' (Link, Klotzsch & Otto) Klatt * ''Ferraria pavonia'' L.f. * ''Ferraria tigridia'' Sims nom. illeg. * ''Marica tigridia'' (Sims) Lehm. nom. illeg. * ''Moraea grandiflora'' (Cav.) Pers. * ''Moraea pavonia'' (L.f.) Thunb. * ''Moraea tigridia'' (Sims) Baker * ''Sisyrinchium grandiflorum'' Cav. * ''Sisyrinchium palmifolium'' Sessé & Moc. nom. illeg. * ''Tigridia conchiflora'' Sweet * ''Tigridia grandiflora'' (Cav.) Diels nom. illeg. * ''Tigridia grandiflora'' Salisb. nom. illeg. * ''Tigridia lutea'' Link, Klotzsch & Otto * ''Tigridia oxypetala'' R.Morris * ''Tigridia pringlei'' S.Watson * ''Tigridia speciosa'' Poit. * ''Vieusseuxia pavonia'' (L.f.) DC. }} }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name=TPL>{{ThePlantList}}</ref> |}}
'''''Tigridia pavonia''''' is a species of flowering plant in the iris family Iridaceae. Common names include jockey's cap lily,<ref>{{cite book |year=2004|title=Growing Bulbs|publisher=Murdoch Books|isbn=9781740455206|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mEl-QbOan4C}}</ref> Mexican shellflower,<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | accessdate=16 January 2014}}</ref> peacock flower,<ref name=GRIN/> jaguar flower,<ref name=Davidse>Davidse, G., M. Sousa Sánchez & A.O. Chater. 1994. Alismataceae a Cyperaceae. 6: i–xvi, 1–543. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez & A.O. Chater (eds.) Fl. Mesoamer.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D. F.</ref> tiger iris,<ref name=oxford>Alan Davidson {{Google books|bIIeBQAAQBAJ|The Oxford Companion to Food|page=116}}</ref> and tiger flower.<ref name=GRIN/> The Aztecs of Mexico called the flower ''ocēlōxōchitl'' meaning "jaguar flower".<ref name=Davidse/> The Inga and Kamëntšá peoples of Colombia refer to this flower as {{lang|kbh|watsimba}}.<ref name="miputmayo">{{Cite web |last=director |date=2016-01-15 |title=Planta ancestral del Putumayo moderniza el agro |url=https://miputumayo.com.co/2016/01/15/planta-ancestral-del-putumayo-moderniza-el-agro/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=MiPutumayo Noticias |language=es}}</ref> This summer-flowering bulbous herbaceous perennial is widespread across much of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. It is naturalized in Ecuador and Peru.<ref name=GRIN/><ref>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=325553 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref>
The leaves are narrow and lance-shaped. The three-petalled blooms occur in a variety of colour combinations with strongly contrasting central markings.<ref name =RHSPF>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/93864/Tigridia-pavonia/Details | title = ''Tigridia pavonia'' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 28 July 2021}}</ref> The three sepals are larger, to {{cvt|7.5|cm}} long, giving the flower a total width of {{cvt|15|cm}}.<ref>{{cite book | last1= Turner | first1= R.J. Jr. | last2= Wasson | first2= Ernie | date= 1999 | title= Botanica | location= | publisher= Barnes & Noble | page= 888| ISBN= 0760716420}}</ref> They open early in the morning and close before dusk. Blooms are successional throughout summer. Plants bloom in the first year after sowing.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}
''Tigridia pavonia'' is cultivated as an ornamental plant. It prefers a sheltered position in full sun, in sandy but fertile soil. The plants are said to be hardy to as low as {{convert|-12|C|F|abbr=on}} in many sources,<ref>''Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants''. Frances Tenenbaum, ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2003. [https://books.google.com/books?id=557KJL0TC48C&pg=PA387 p. 387.] {{ISBN|9780618226443}}</ref><ref>{{PFAF|Tigridia pavonia|access-date=25 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="NCEG">[https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/tigridia/ "Tigridia pavonia"] at North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Retrieved 25 March 2024.</ref> while in some others only to {{convert|5|C|F|abbr=on}}.<ref name = RHSPF/> Most authorities recommend that the corms should be lifted and stored throughout the winter months in colder areas.<ref name = RHSPF/><ref name="NCEG"/>
The roasted bulbs are edible and have been used by the American Indians and Indigenous peoples of Mexico. It has a chestnut-like flavour.<ref name=oxford/>
The Indigenous communities of Colombia's Sibundoy Valley, the Inga and Kamëntšá, know the flower as watsimba and use its bulbs in a variety of recipes. Indigenous women in the valley also use ''Tigridia pavonia'' bulbs to produce reddish dyes for makeup and clothes. It is used extensively as chicken feed, and is considered by these communities to produce better meat and eggs than other feeds. When used for culinary purposes, watsimba is also considered a substitute for potatoes.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-10-13 |title=Watsimba, alternativa de sustitución del maíz en alimento concentrado para aves - Apropia con Sentido |url=https://apropiaconsentido.minciencias.gov.co/18404/watsimba-alternativa-de-sustitucion-del-maiz-en-alimento-concentrado-para-aves/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250423182601/https://apropiaconsentido.minciencias.gov.co/18404/watsimba-alternativa-de-sustitucion-del-maiz-en-alimento-concentrado-para-aves/ |archive-date=2025-04-23 |access-date=2025-07-25 |work=Apropia con Sentido |language=es-ES}}</ref> ''Tigridia pavonia'' is considered a good source of food security in these communities' chagras (Indigenous polyculture gardens), given that if other staple crops fail to produce well, one can eat the flower bulbs. The Indigenous communities of the Sibundoy Valley also use the flowers for medicinal purposes in a variety of infusions and poultices, particularly for acid reflux, gastritis, and abdominal distension.<ref name="miputmayo"/>
The aphid ''Aphis newtoni'' may be found on this plant.<ref>Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Biology and Ecology June 2002 {{Google books|MUIohJLKGOYC|Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Biology and Ecology June 2002|page=128}}</ref>
<gallery mode=packed> File:Curtis's botanical magazine (No. 532) (8413260085).jpg File:Tigrida-pavonia-flower.jpg File:Tigrida pavonia.jpg File:Tigridia pavonia.jpg </gallery>
==References== {{commons category}} {{Reflist}}
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Category:Iridaceae Category:Flora of Mexico Category:Flora of Central America Category:Garden plants Category:Plants described in 1782 Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus the Younger Category:Flora of Colombia Category:Edible plants Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine