Wurmbea variabilis

Wurmbea variabilis is a cormous perennial reaching about 20 cm in height when in flower, although some plants manage only 5 cm.

A few broad, lance-shaped leaves are grown annually. The stem-clasping leaves are erect to out-curving from the base and the flower stem, channelled and acutely pointed. Leaf dimensions are about 15 cm long and 4 cm wide. The leaves are often dry when the plants flower.

The species distribution is widespread in the Western Cape, extending into the south of the Northern Cape in Namaqualand and into the west of the Eastern Cape as far as Gqeberha. This plant was spotted in the Little Karoo near Oudtshoorn.  

The habitat is sandy flats in grassy fynbos and renosterveld of the winter rainfall region. The plants are sometimes abundant. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; www.pacificbulbsociety.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).