Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Common name: Wildeknoffel, Wild garlic

Family: Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis)

Distribution: Eastern Cape

Habitat: Buffel's Thicket

National red list: Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct)

Life form: Geophyte (bulb, corm or tuber - seasonally dormant)

Comments: A highly range-restricted species which is currently known to only occur at one site in the Eastern Cape. Previous populations were destroyed by a road construction project and it seemed unlikely that this species will survive. However, CREW volunteer Cameron McMaster spotted an unusual Tulbaghia in a dolerite outcrop next to the N2 highway on the way to Grahamstown. He collected a specimen which was identified as Tulbaghia cominsii by Dr Caino Vosa, who originally described the species. A few months later, this single site where the species occurs was nearly completely destroyed for road construction, but luckily a small area of this site was rehabilitated and secured in order to conserve this species.