Moraea ciliata

Moraea ciliata, commonly in Afrikaans the uintjie (nutsedge or from Dutch little onion), or growweuintjie (rough uintjie) and sometimes the fringe tulp, is a stemless perennial reaching heights from 5 cm to 20 cm. It grows above-ground parts annually from a fibrous-tunic corm.

The particular colour form seen here is sometimes called M. ciliata subsp. cuprina, but SANBI does not currently recognise subspecies of this plant. This colour form is seen from Kamieskroon to south of Garies, to the coast near Hondeklipbaai and further south along the west coast. The species overall bears several differently coloured flowers.

The species distribution ranges from central Namaqualand in the Northern Cape southwards to the Western Cape, as far as the Cape Peninsula and eastwards to Riversdale, the Little Karoo and southern Karoo, possibly to westerly parts of the Eastern Cape.

The habitat is sandy and clayey slopes and flats in fynbos, succulent Karoo and renosterveld. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2009; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).