Albuca spiralis leaves and lower stem parts

The tuft of Albuca spiralis leaves emerge directly from the underground bulb. They spiral or coil in their upper parts, simplifying identification as the majority of Albuca species bear leaves that do not spiral.

Other species with spiralling leaves that occur in largely overlapping distributions in the west of South Africa are A. viscosa and A. concordiana. The leaves of both these plants spiral from ground level. A. viscosa differs in its leaves being covered in glandular hairs that make them sticky, accumulating grains of sand on the surfaces. The leaves of A. concordiana are strap-shaped.

Without flowers A. spiralis, or rather its leaves also resemble those of Gethyllis spiralis, one of the koekemakrankas. The confusion is over when the very different flowers appear. Spiralling is believed to facilitate photosynthesis in winter when sunlight is less, ensuring some leaf part always meets the arriving rays.

The A. spiralis leaves are smooth and narrow, up to 4 mm wide and channelled to cylindrical. Their upper surfaces are hairless, the lower ones often rough. Foliage arrives before the spring flowers (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Eliovson, 1990; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984).