Moraea lewisiae subsp. lewisiae

Moraea lewisiae subsp. lewisiae, sometimes commonly called the ostrich clockflower and in Afrikaans the volstruisuintjie (ostrich nutgrass), is a slender, deciduous perennial growing from a corm. The plant may reach heights from 20 cm to 90 cm.

The subspecies distribution is in the west of the Northern Cape in Namaqualand, across much of the Western Cape to around Humansdorp in the Eastern Cape. The photo was taken in the Biedouw Valley.

The habitat is mostly arid places among diverse vegetation, much on lower sandstone and clay slopes. The plants are often seen where the soil had been disturbed. The habitat population of the subspecies is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; iNaturalist; https://www.fernkloof.org.za; http://redlist.sanbi.org).