Moraea brevistyla flower

Moraea brevistyla, the partridge moraea, is a cormous perennial producing a single leaf and flower stem annually in spring. The white or sometimes pale lilac flowers are small, about 2 cm in diameter. The three conspicuous outer tepals with yellow nectar guides at the base are rounded to obovate and slightly reflexed. Their tips are variably rounded to pointed. The three inner tepals are tiny and erect, each with three narrow lobes. Flowers last a few days each, blooming from late spring to early autumn.

The distribution of this species lies mainly inland in KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho, spilling a little over the borders into the Eastern Cape, the eastern Free State and Mpumalanga. The habitat is high elevation moist grassland and seeps (Manning, 2009).