Aristea inaequalis

Aristea inaequalis, in Afrikaans the bokkeveldkoringblom (antelope veld wheat flower), is an evergreen, rhizomatous, perennial reaching 1,5 m in height when flowering.

Old plants grow large clumps of leaves arranged in fans. The narrow, strap-shaped leaves are stiff and greyish, having red margins and no midribs.

The deep blue flowers grow in tall, narrow panicles. The individual flower, up to 2 cm in diameter, lasts for one day only. The cream to beige anthers grow on blue filaments. Flowering happens in the later part of spring.

The species has a small distribution in the northwest of the Western Cape and slightly into the southwest of the Northern Cape, mostly near the Bokkeveld Mountains, the Gifberg and Nardouwsberg.

The habitat is sandstone outcrops and crevices. While rare, the habitat population is considered near threatened early in the twenty first century, due to agriculture and water deprivation (Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).