Rhodohypoxis baurii var. baurii

Rhodohypoxis baurii var. baurii, commonly known as the red star, is a cormous perennial, a dwarf geophyte reaching up to 15 cm in height. The plant forms a matted ground cover by vegetative growth from stolons out of the corm. The lanceolate leaves are narrow and grass-like, channelled and hairy.

While the common name suggests red flowers for the species, especially for R. baurii var. baurii, the star-shaped ones seen here show the other two colours that occur in R. baurii, viz. white and pink. The short corolla tube contains the anthers that reach two lengths. Flowering happens in spring and summer. Black seeds are dispersed when the top half of the covering of the ripe capsule drops off.

The species distribution is inland in the east of South Africa, in the far north of the Eastern Cape and the west of KwaZulu-Natal, as well as in neighbouring countries, at least Lesotho. These flowers were photographed in the Mkhomazi Wilderness Area in January.

The habitat is high elevation grassland of the Drakensberg on rock sheets where it is often damp. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2009; iNaturalist; iSpot; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).