Ornithogalum pilosum

Ornithogalum pilosum, commonly called the dainty chink and previously O. tenellum, is a slender, bulbous perennial reaching heights from 15 cm to 30 cm. The globose bulb becomes 2,5 cm in diameter. It is covered in a dark tunic with fleshy, white roots spreading below.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula northwards to Clanwilliam and eastwards to Mossel Bay, also inland in the Little Karoo. The photo was taken west of Barrydale.

The habitat is clayey flats and slopes. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; JSTOR; http://worldfloraonline.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).