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Babiana carminea
Also called Red Bobbejaantjie
Limestone Bobbejaantjie is a small tuberous geophyte from South Africa's Knersvlakte, growing wedged in limestone crevices. It needs very dry, sharply drained conditions with bright sun and very little water.
Babiana carminea is a geophytic, perennial flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is part of the vygieveld. The species is endemic to the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Babiana carminea occurs on the Knersvlakte, near Vanrhynsdorp in the Western Cape province of South Africa where it is limited to limestone outcrops. Its corms are wedged tightly in the crevices. The species grows in a very dry climate with on average less than 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain per year. These crevices however collect surface runoff and together with fog from the sea this improves local water availability. Growing with these plants in the crevices are also Antimima dualis, Bulbine margarethae, Bulbine wiesei, Eriospermum arachnoideum and Ixia acaulis. In the deeper loam or clay soil surrounding the limestone outcrops Moraea deserticola can be found. The shape and colour of the flowers suggest these are pollinated by sunbirds, but the cream-coloured blotches may be a relict due to a recent shift from being pollinated by flies with a long proboscis. There is one population consisting of less than 100 plants and it is threatened by limestone mining activities.
Baboon Root · Babiana angustifolia · Brandvlei Bobbejaantjie · Violet Scent Bobbejaantjie · Pakhuis Bobbejaantjie · Mini Rat Tail Bobbejaantjie · Nama Bobbejaantjie · Pink Bobejaantjie · Needleleaf Bobbejaantjie · Cederberg Bobbejaantjie · Cinnamon Bobbejaantjie · Sandveld Bobbejaantjie
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Babiana carminea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
