Lapeirousia divaricata

Lapeirousia divaricata, commonly in Afrikaans the witkabong (white cabong) or paletblaar (palette leaf), is a cormous perennial that grows an inclined stem to heights from 7 cm to 25 cm.

The single leaf is narrowly linear or sword-shaped and ribbed. In picture the leaf is erect, taller than the inflorescence and yellow-green in colour. It must have been the short, broad floral bracts that brought about the paletblaar name.

The species distribution is in the southwest of the Northern Cape and the northwest of the Western Cape from Nieuwoudtville and the Bokkeveld Mountains to Citrusdal.

The habitat is damp, sandy places. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; www.pacificbulbsociety.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).