creeping mikoikoi

foliage palette: orange

fruit & flower palette: white

Libertia peregrinans | Creeping mikoikoi, New Zealand iris, mikoikoi

A striking rhizomatous perennial with stiff, sword-shaped, grass-like foliage. The leaves emerge golden-green and intensify to vivid orange as they mature, with colour becoming especially strong under harsher conditions and through the winter months. Architectural, it provides year-round structure and strong visual contrast in the landscape. In spring and summer, small, pure white iris-like flowers rise above the foliage, softening the intensity of the leaves. Hardy and low-maintenance, it thrives in full sun or partial shade and prefers moist, fertile, free-draining soils, while also tolerating drought, poor soils, and exposure once established. Well suited to borders, rockeries, mass planting, or as a bold accent against darker backdrops.
Formerly widespread, this species has declined or disappeared from large parts of its former range. Its decline is linked to habitat loss from coastal development and weed encroachment, browsing by cattle, sheep, horses, and rabbits, and the destruction of several sites, through use as rubbish dumps. Inland populations on the Central Volcanic Plateau appear to have been lost due to a combination of over-collecting and competition from invasive weeds.

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