Satyrium carneum budding in September

Satyrium carneum is an increasingly rare ground orchid endemic to the Western Cape coastal area between the Cape Peninsula and Knysna. The basal leaves are positioned opposite each other. At least one is nearly prostrate or partly pressed to the ground. In all there are two to four leaves, smaller ones enveloping the stout flower stem higher up. The tuber, the perennial, underground plant part, is partly split in two or bifurcating.

The pink or white spring flowers have earned the Afrikaans name of rooikappie (red bonnet or little red riding hood), which may relate more to shape than colour. Carneus meaning flesh-coloured in Latin refers to the pink flowers. There are pale pink, even white forms of S. carneum, making the resemblance easier to see.

The two-spurred flower lip is a feature characterising Satyrium flowers, reminding of the two-horned satyrs of mythology remembered in the genus name (Manning, 2007).