Ornithogalum maculatum

Many of the ornithogalums that form part of the Hyacinthaceae family are well-known and popular garden plants, also beyond the South African borders.

Ornithogalum maculatum sometimes has black markings on the outer three tepal tips, which gave rise to the specific name. The flowers are usually orange, sometimes red or yellow.

The species distribution is in central Namaqualand, from the southwest of the Northern Cape southwards to the Western Cape around Malmesbury, the western Karoo, the Little Karoo and across the Swartberg Mountains to Prince Albert.

The habitat is fynbos, succulent Karoo and Nama Karoo where the plants are found on sandstone, granite and shale rocky outcrops, mostly in winter rainfall conditions. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; www.pacificbulbsociety.org; www.redlist.sanbi.org).