Lachenalia fistulosa

Endemic to the Cape Peninsula, South Africa (with a late-flowering disjunct population in the Du Toitskloof Mountains), Lachenalia fistulosa is a small geophyte with a single fleshy white bulb, of the family Asparagaceae, growing on shale or granite soils in fynbos. It produces one or two leathery, bright green, lance-shaped leaves, sometimes spotted brown or magenta. In late spring (September to November in the Southern Hemisphere), a spike up to 12 cm tall bears sessile tubular flowers, swollen at the base and flared at the mouth, in cream, yellow, blue, lilac or violet, and fragrant. It is a winter-growing bulb with strict summer dormancy, typical of the Cape's Mediterranean-type climate; it requires well-drained soil and a completely dry summer rest.