Pauridia trifurcillata

Pauridia trifurcillata, commonly known in Afrikaans as sterretjies (little stars) and previously scientifically as Spiloxene trifurcillata, is a cormous perennial reaching about 12 cm in height when flowering.

The narrow, hairless leaves are about 5 cm long and less than 3 mm wide.

The plant grows a few yellow flowers in a loose cluster on a slender peduncle, otherwise a solitary one. The flowers spread their tepals, not quite to 10 mm in diameter. In picture the narrow anthers are erect around the shorter style. Flowering happens from before midautumn to early winter. The fruit is a dry capsule with a top like a lid.

The species distribution is from the Western Cape in the eastern Little Karoo to the west of the Eastern Cape, as far as Gqeberha. The photo was taken on Minwater near Oudtshoorn.

The plants are found widespread on scrub plains, except in the brackish soil parts. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).