Agapanthus inapertus waiting for rain

This field of flowering Agapanthus inapertus on a highveld grassy plain shows what the drooping agapanthus can do in habitat, even on a dull day.

The perianth segments are joined to each other from the base to about halfway in this species, spreading only slightly in their upper halves (that hang below). Flowering happens in summer or from about midsummer to early autumn.

This is a very variable species comprising five subspecies. Several of them are found in parts of the southeast of Limpopo and the northeast of Mpumalanga. Subsp. intermedius, the most widely distributed subspecies, reaches both the Witwatersrand and KwaZulu-Natal. The subspecies of the plants in picture has not been determined (Pooley, 1998; Lowrey and Wright, 1987).