Lachenalia bulbifera

For much of the year one can wander around here without seeing any sign of a Lachenalia bulbifera plant. Then, as the summer’s heat abates, these leaves and red flowers announce themselves spectacularly in the verdure brought on by first rains.

Colour is adequate attraction to pollinators of Lachenalia; the plant is not fragrant. The Hermanus area has a deep pink form of this winter flower, while the literature talks much about the orange to red form (www.plantzafrica.com).