Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Family: Iridaceae (Iris)

Distribution: Western Cape, Malmesbury to Gordon's Bay

Habitat: Clay soils in renosterveld and shale fynbos

IUCN Red list: Not evaluated

National red list: Endangered

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

Comments: Babiana villosula is a winter-flowering geophyte with light blue to purple flowers with a white centre. Like most of the bulbs from the Cape Floristic Region, it grows in the rainy winter season and goes dormant in the dry summer season. It is endemic to the region with a distribution from Malmesbury to Gordon’s Bay and is endangered. It has lost most of its historical range due to urban expansion in the area, as well as to crop cultivation and invasive alien species. It now only occurs in fragmented subpopulations while habitat loss continues.