Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Family: Iridaceae (Iris)

Distribution: Ceres to Cape Peninsula

Habitat: Sandstone slopes

National red list: Near Threatened

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

Comments: This beautiful Cape geophyte has lovely cinnamon-scented flowers. A once very common species, it has lost more than half of its habitat over its natural range due to alien invasion and agricultural and urban expansion. Populations that occur in mountain reserves are still protected, but those that occur in low-lying areas are continuously threatened.