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Babiana hypogaea is a small bulbous perennial in the iris family, about 5 to 8 cm tall, that grows from an underground corm and produces fragrant, pale yellow flowers. It is native to dry, summer-rain areas of southern Namibia and South Africa and is grown mainly as a curiosity by bulb enthusiasts.
Babiana hypogaea is a perennial plant of about 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) high that annually forms leaves and flowers from an underground corm that is assigned to the iris family. It has pale greenish yellow, buff or rarely white, mirro-symmetrical flowers and line- to sickle-shaped, slightly pleated, thinly hairy or hairless leaves that are held horizontally or inclined, that grows in the summer rainfall areas of southeastern Namibia and central and northern central South Africa. Flowers may be found between June and September and sometimes between December and May. It is called Bobbejaankalkoentjie (baboon turkey), Bobbejaanuintjie (baboon onion) or Ertappeluintjie (patato onion) in Afrikaans.
Bobbejaankalkoentjie can be found in southern Namibia and in the Northern Cape, North West and Free State provinces of South Africa. In contrast with every other species of bobbejaantjie (except for B. bainesii) it does not grow in the area with predominant winter rains. Its continued survival is considered to be of least concern.
The corms of Bobbejaankalkoentjie are collected locally from the wild as a food source. These corms are cooked and are reported to have a sweet and nutty flavour without the bitterness that often occurs in the corms of other Iridaceae.
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 hypogaea 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.
