Agapanthus praecox subsp. minimus at a forest edge

Agapanthus praecox subsp. minimus, commonly the dwarf blue lily, is an evergreen perennial, a small rhizomatous plant growing from thick roots. It forms large clumps and bears strap-shaped leaves from the ground.

The flower stems are between 40 cm and 60 cm tall. The clear blue flowers are about 5 cm long. They grow stalked in umbels at the tips of sturdy peduncles. The flowers are trumpet-shaped with a dark line down the centre of each of the six tepals. The stamens are black and prominent. Bloomtime is during summer and early autumn.

This smaller subspecies is distributed mainly coastally from the east of the Western Cape around Knysna through the Eastern Cape to the south of KwaZulu-Natal. The photo was taken at Nature's Valley during May.

The habitat is along forest margins and on cliffs near the sea. The habitat population of the subspecies is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2007; Moriarty, 1997; Gledhill, 1981; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).