Tritonia is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the iris family Iridaceae with some 28 species. They are naturally distributed mainly in South Africa, and are closely related to the genus Ixia. They are small bulbous plants. The leaves are fan-shaped. The flowers are shades of yellow, orange or brown; sweet-smelling, and give off a very strong fragrance, especially at night. They occur in a variety of habitats: grassland in summer rainfall areas, renosterveld, karroid scrub, and fynbos in winter rainfall areas. The genus name is derived from the Latin word triton, meaning “weathervane”, and alludes to the apparently random arrangement of the stamens in some species. They are well suited to pot culture.

Tritonia nelsonii is a South African indigenous species from the Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces. It was previously known as Tritonia petrophila. It grows to 20cm tall with a fan of leaves. During summer it bears a spike of orange/salmon flowers.