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Babiana sambucina
Sweet bobbejaantjie is a small South African bulb (a corm) that produces dense spikes of fragrant blue to violet flowers in late winter and spring. It needs dry, sunny conditions and very well-drained soil, and it is best grown outdoors in mild climates.
Babiana sambucina is a species of geophyte of 8–30 cm (3.1–11.8 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has dense spikes of blue to violet-coloured, often fragrant flowers. There are two subspecies, B. sambucina subsp. longibracteata is restricted to a small area in the Northern Cape, B. sambucina subsp. sambucina grows in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. Flowers are present in August and September. The typical subspecies is called sweet bobbejaantjie in English, and subsp. longibracteata is called sand sweet bobbejaantjie.
Babiana sambucina grows in dry fynbos and renosterveld in soils that developed from the erosion of sandstone, on stony outcrops, slopes and flats. B. sambucina subsp. sambucina is widespread in the interior of the Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa from the Kouebokkeveld Mountains in the west to Addo and Uitenhage in the east. As far as known, it is pollinated by long-tongued bees, mostly larger species of the genus Anthophora. It's continued survival is considered to be of least concern. B. sambucina subsp. longibracteata is pollinated by flies with long tongues. It is only known to occur on five locations recently, on the Bokkeveld Plateau near Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape province. This subspecies has been observed on more locations before 1970, but the area has been rapidly transformed for rooibos cultivation in the last decennium. It will probably decline further because its habitat will continue to me lost. It is therefore considered to be 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 sambucina 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.
