Lapeirousia pyramidalis subsp. pyramidalis

Lapeirousia pyramidalis is a cormous perennial of 5 cm to 10 cm in height. The species comprises two recognised subspecies: the pale flowering L. pyramidalis subsp. pyramidalis bears white, cream, blue, pink or lilac flowers, while the dark flowering L. pyramidalis subsp. regalis produces dark purple ones.

The lower three tepals of the two-lipped flowers have contrasting colour markings differentiating between the subspecies: On the paler subsp. pyramidalis flowers these markings when present are dark (often purple), positioned on the central axis of the tepals that have fuzzy margins. On the darker tepals of subsp. regalis the markings are white with sharply contrasting margins, positioned at the tepal margins.

The long leaf at the base of the plant in picture contrasts against the short, rounded and folded floral bracts up the flower stalk. The leaves are narrow with longitudinally ribbed surfaces.

This plant grows in the southwest of the Northern Cape, from central Namaqualand to the Western Cape, mainly through the Tankwa Karoo, the Little Karoo and the Overberg.

The habitat is fynbos and renosterveld in sandstone and shale soils. The habitat population of the subspecies is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; iNaturalist; www.pacificbulbsociety.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).