Lapeirousia azurea

Now reclassified as Codonorhiza azurea, this cormous Iridaceae, formerly Lapeirousia azurea, reaches 7 to 18 cm tall. The bell-shaped corm, with a flat base, is dark grey to almost black, made of concentric layers of compacted fibres. The flowers, deep blue marked with dark red on three tepals, are zygomorphic and tilted backwards, with unusually dark purple to red-brown pollen for a bee-pollinated species. Once common, it has become extinct on the Cape Peninsula, and its surviving South African populations are now reduced to small, isolated fragments through habitat loss. It requires well-drained soil and a sunny position.