Lachenalia bulbifera budding

The freshly emerging inflorescence of Lachenalia bulbifera presents coloured buds even when still pushing them up inside the protective, encircling leaf at ground level. Only one or two leaves are grown, the outer one sheathing the inner when there are two. The flower buds are closely bunched, flat-tipped and squashed initially, before they gain room to swell out in preparation of opening.

The above-ground parts of the plant appear fresh from the bulb every year, from as early as April into winter. In this plant the one hairless leaf is mainly yellow green with some bluish grey mainly on the lower surface. There are large to small, faint and unevenly shaped purplish blotches present on the fleshy blade and marginal areas covered in faint red speckling. The leaf margins are dull red. Some L. bulbifera leaves are spotless (Manning, 2007; Manning and Goldblatt, 1996; iNaturalist).