Lachenalia suaveolens

Lachenalia suaveolens, previously L. elegans var. suaveolens, is a bulbous perennial bearing multicoloured flowers. The plants in flower vary from 15 cm to 45 cm in height, the flowers at the top of the spike vestigial.

One or two stem-sheathing, pointed-tip leaves are grown at ground level, angled up. They are yellow-green and sometimes sparsely spotted. The thick, cylindrical stem is monocoloured, about the colour of the leaf spots in picture.  

The species distribution is in the Northern Cape in part of Namaqualand on the Bokkeveld Plateau and towards the south of the Tanqua Karoo.

The habitat is succulent Karoo in shale renosterveld and sandstone fynbos on stony, clayey slopes. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Bond and Goldblatt; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).