Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Family: Asparagaceae (Asparagus)

Distribution: Northern Cape, Western Cape

Habitat: Clay and sand

National red list: Least Concern

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

Comments: The Eriospermums of the winter-rainfall area in South Africa have inconspicuous flowers that come out at the end of the dry summer season when little else is flowering in the veld. The leaves are also typically not present at flowering. Due to these factors the flowers of these plants typically go unnoticed. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek word "erion" for "wool" and "sperma" for "seed", which refers to the fruit capsules that have woolly seeds.