Wachendorfia brachyandra

Wachendorfia brachyandra, commonly known as the short-stamen butterfly lily, is a small perennial growing from a reddish underground rhizome. The winter-growing plant reaches heights from 20 cm to 65 cm.

The pleated or corrugated, lance-shaped leaves grow in a basal fan, oriented edgewise to the stem. The leaves are hairless and somewhat glossy. They are about 3,5 cm wide and usually shorter than the stem.

The species distribution is in the far southwest of the Western Cape, from the Cape Peninsula to Hermon and Caledon. 

The habitat is damp places in fynbos, renosterveld and scrub in sandstone or granitic soils. The habitat population is deemed vulnerable due to habitat loss, including for fruit farming (Bean and Johns, 2005; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).