Veltheimia capensis

Veltheimia capensis, commonly known as quarobe or in Afrikaans as sandlelie (sand lily), is a bulbous perennial, the outer tunic layers of the bulb papery.

An annual ground-level rosette of glaucous (blue-green) or grey leaves is grown, the leaves dying back in summer. Leaf-shape is oblong with pointed tip. The margins are undulating or crinkled and upturned. Leaf dimensions are up to 25 cm long and about 6 cm wide.

The species is distributed from coastal southern Namibia through Namaqualand to the Cape Peninsula in a broad swathe and into the west of the Eastern Cape. This plant was seen in the Little Karoo.

Common in semi-arid conditions, the plant grows in various habitats among rocks on slopes and outcrops, often in clay soils. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Manning, 2007; www.pacificbulbsociety.net; http://redlist.sanbi.org).