Trachyandra asperata

Trachyandra asperata is a variable, rhizomatous perennial, the slender plant reaching heights from 15 cm to 50 cm. The rhizomes are usually short and erect, sometimes woody with thin roots. The plant exudes an acrid smell when touched. There are seven recognised varieties of this species in South Africa. 

Many keeled, grass-like leaves grow annually in a basal tuft. They are long, sometimes hairy, particularly at the base. Leaf dimensions are from 15 cm to 40 cm long and 1 mm to 5 mm wide.

The species occurs in the east and northeast of the country, from the Eastern Cape, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal to the provinces north of the Vaal River, also in some neighbouring countries. The photo was taken in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg.

The habitat is open grassland at various elevations. The plants often grow among rocks in seasonally moist places. The habitat populations of all seven varieties are deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Pooley, 1998; Van Wyk and Malan, 1997; Lowrey and Wright, 1987; Trauseld, 1969; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).