Babiana tubiflora early floral bracts

The fan-shaped structure of floral bracts of Babiana tubiflora appears before the two ranks of flowers they conceal. The bracts look like this on their emerging stem for a short time only.

Each flower is subtended by two bracts. They are short, pale yellow-green, hairless and brown-tipped in picture, very different from the darker green, ribbed and hairy leaves growing from the same cormous base next to them (Manning, 2007; Manning and Goldblatt, 1996; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist).