Albuca grandis

Albuca grandis is a robust, bulbous perennial, a deciduous geophyte reaching heights up to 1,3 m. The bulbs grow solitary or form small clumps, top-shaped and ribbed, their outer tunics membranous. The plants were previously included under the slenderer A. fragrans that also grows further south and east in the Western Cape.

The species distribution is a narrow coastal strip in the Western Cape from around Koeberg northwards up the west coast to central Namaqualand in the Northern Cape. The photo was taken in the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve also known as Tietiesbaai.

The habitat is fynbos and succulent Karoo in sandy soils. The plants grow partly sheltered by coastal shrubs. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century, although some of the southerly subpopulations are reduced by farming, urban development and invasive alien vegetation (Manning and Goldblatt, 2009: Albuca crispa and A. grandis. Bothalia 39(2), 153-163; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).