Moraea modesta is a high altitude grassland geophyte of the Drakensberg. It grows one narrow, cylindrical leaf after the annual late spring or summer flower stalk. The height attained by the plant is only about 20 cm.
Parts of the plant may be toxic to humans; many of the Moraea species are toxic to livestock, the notorious tulpe (tulips). This specimen was photographed in November in the Mkhomazi Wilderness Area in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg (iSpot).