Moraea nana

Moraea nana, in Afrikaans commonly known as trosuintjie (bunch nut-grass), is a cormous perennial reaching 30 cm in height when flowering.

The yellow flowers grow in a cluster, each lasting for one afternoon only. The flower base is enclosed by a leaf-like spathe. Flower diameter is up to 3 cm. Flowering happens in spring.

The species is distributed from Namaqualand to Citrusdal. This photo was taken in the Gifberg in October. The habitat is rocky sandstone slopes in arid fynbos and Nama Karoo. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).