Moraea spathulata flower

Moraea spathulata, the large yellow moraea and in Afrikaans the grootgeeltulp (large yellow tulp or tulip), is a cormous perennial that may form clumps. It produces one leathery, strap-shaped leaf that may be flat or channelled.

The large yellow flowers are iris-like, the inner tepals erect and spoon-shaped. The spreading outer tepals have dark yellow nectar guides. The flowers are up to 7 cm in diameter.

The species distribution lies from the Eastern Cape and the Eastern Free State through KwaZulu-Natal to the Mpumalanga and Limpopo Lowveld, also found in Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

The habitat is grassland, forest margins and rocky places at a wide range of altitudes. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2009; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).