Micranthus junceus

Micranthus junceus, one of the combflowers and in Afrikaans the vleiblommetjie (little marsh flower) or the blouvleipypie (little blue marsh pipe), is a cormous perennial reaching heights from 25 cm to 45 cm. It is a member of the Iridaceae family, the genus consisting of three species, all found in the fynbos.

The slender leaves are quill-like, terete (cylindrical) and hollow. The plant produces a dense two-ranked spike of neatly aligned, small blue flowers in spring and summer.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from Clanwilliam to Riversdale, and slightly into the Northern Cape, a South African endemic. 

The habitat is fynbos seeps and sandy flats and slopes that are moist in winter. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2007; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; www.pacificbulbsociety.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).