Schizostylis coccinea (Crimson Flag Lily)

Schizostylis coccinea, known as Crimson flag or Crimson River lily, is a rhizome-growing iris relative that forms dense clumps. Indigenous to moist meadows and riverbanks in South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe, this plant features bright scarlet, six-petaled, cup-shaped flowers measuring up to 2.5 inches wide. Blossoming from late summer through fall, the flowers emerge on leafless, gladiolus-like spikes up to 2 feet tall, with each spike bearing 4 to 14 outward-facing blooms. Its narrow, grass-like basal leaves can reach 18 inches, and in mild winter areas, flowering may extend into winter with mostly evergreen foliage.