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Babiana foliosa
Also called Riviersonderend Bobbejaantjie
Babiana foliosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. The plants may be up to 10 cm (3.9 in) high and appear from an underground corm after the summer. It has star-symmetrical mauve flowers that are each supported by 2 entirely green bracts of 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) with a transparent margin, the inner bract is split to the base. It has relatively many, lance-shaped, pleated, hairy leaves. After its description in 1959 it was presumed extinct because it had not been sighted until its rediscovery in 2024. In addition, its natural habitat, a particular type of renosterveld, has largely been converted for wheat cultivation.
Babiana foliosa was known from one location in the Western Cape province of South Africa near the Sonderend River, where it grows on clay or loamy flats. Much of its presumed habitat, the so-called Central Ruens Shale Renosterveld, has been converted for wheat cultivation since its discovery. It was presumed extinct, but it was rediscovered in 2024. It therefore has been listed as Critically Endangered.
Baboon Root · Babiana angustifolia · Brandvlei Bobbejaantjie · Violet Scent Bobbejaantjie · Pakhuis Bobbejaantjie · Mini Rat Tail Bobbejaantjie · Nama Bobbejaantjie · Pink Bobejaantjie · Needleleaf Bobbejaantjie · Limestone Bobbejaantjie · Cederberg Bobbejaantjie · Cinnamon Bobbejaantjie
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Babiana foliosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
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.
