Ornithoglossum undulatum on the lookout

The Ornithoglossum undulatum flowers turned this way and that like eager little faces searching for diamonds among the Little Karoo pebbles appear too innocent for their common names of Karoo slangkop (snake head) and poison onion.

Their supposed innocence won’t last either, as alluvial diamonds don’t feature among the Little Karoo popular rumours. Fruitless searches are known soon to become tiresome.

But encountering such enthusiastic little flowers among the greyness of bare ground and sukkeling shrubs is always a highlight in the hiker’s day.