Babiana thunbergii

Native to western South Africa, this plant was long known as Babiana thunbergii, a name now invalidated in favour of B. hirsuta for reasons of nomenclatural priority. This cormous plant in the Iridaceae family bears slightly downy, oblong leaves with thickened, pale margins, and a short, simple to sparsely branched stem. In spring it produces a spike of 2 to 6 greenish flowers, with narrow tepals longer than the perianth tube. It requires a sunny position, well-drained soil, and dry summer dormancy of the corm.