Bulbine succulenta, dikkopieva

Bulbine succulenta, the compass plant, flowers bright yellow in the west of the Little Karoo during the later part of winter and the earlier part of spring.

The vein lines down the centre of each open tepal are repeated on the duller buds higher up in the raceme. Below the open flower the withered tepals are furled narrowly over the much shorter ovaries that will begin to swell into fruits.

The slender raceme is much longer than the leaves that don’t do well in the warmer months, usually losing their tips (Smith, et al, 2017; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; iNaturalist).