Lapeirousia plicata subsp. effurcata

Lapeirousia plicata subsp. effurcata, commonly in Afrikaans the haaskabong (hare cabong), is a cormous perennial usually growing lower than 5 cm.

The flat leaf or leaves are usually on the ground, while the leaf-like bracts are channelled with crisped margins.

The small, white or blue, two-lipped flowers have tubes up to 2,5 cm long. Flowering happens in winter and early spring.

The subspecies is distributed from Worcester to Riversdale and in the western parts of the Little Karoo, the only subspecies found in the Western Cape. The photo was taken on Minwater near Oudtshoorn.

The habitat is renosterveld and semi-arid flats of shrubveld. The subspecies is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iNaturalist; https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).