Lachenalia bulbifera

Lachenalia bulbifera, commonly the Cape hyacinth and in Afrikaans the rooinaeltjie (red hyacinth), is a bulbous perennial reaching heights up to 30 cm, mostly less than half that and typically about 8 cm tall. The plants are winter growing and summer deciduous, grow actively during the cooler, wetter months and then going dormant in summer when water is scarce. 

Bulbils often develop along the leaf base margins in certain forms of this species. This is a natural vegetative propagation process contributing to the safeguarding of plant numbers. This feature brought the species its name, bulbifera, derived from the Latin words bulbus meaning a bulb and fero, meaning to bear or to carry, referring to the growth of bulbils. The fruits are three-angled, delivering spherical seeds.

The species distribution is only in a part of the Western Cape, mainly coastally from near Klawer to around Mossel Bay. 

The habitat is sandy flats and slopes, often among rocks close to the sea. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Marais, (Ed.), 2017; Manning, 2009; Manning and Goldblatt, 1996; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).