Eriospermum cooperi var. cooperi

Eriospermum cooperi var. cooperi, commonly known as white fluffy-seed, is a tuberous perennial reaching about 60 cm in height when in flower.

The leaf grows after the flowering or next to it. The single leaf on the ground is slightly concave above, curving up slightly near its margin. The shape is nearly round, broadly oval with tip usually bluntly pointed. The base is roundly lobed, the lobes sometimes overlapping. The margin is entire, the blade surface bluish green to yellow green and slightly vein-lined. The blade dimensions are about 15 cm long and 8,5 cm wide. The leaf of var. natalense is narrower, more pointed and borne slightly higher.

The solitary inflorescence is a slender, erect raceme. The long-stalked flowers are white to pale green, the perianth segments only joined at the base. The seeds are covered in soft, white fluff.

The distribution of the variety is in the north of the Eastern Cape, the east of the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the provinces north of the Vaal River, as well as some neighbouring countries including Lesotho and eSwatini. While the range overlaps with that of var. natalense, it lies more to the north.

The habitat is rocky grassland and open scrub at elevations from the coast to 2250 m. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Pooley, 1998; Van Wyk and Malan, 1997; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).