''Drimia exuviata '' ("Gifbol") is a
species of
flowering plant in the family
Asparagaceae
Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, ''Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate c ...
, subfamily
Scilloideae
Scilloideae (named after the genus ''Scilla'', "squill") is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family ''Asparagaceae''. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus ''Hyacinthus''. Scilloideae or ...
, indigenous to the south-western parts of
South Africa.
Description
A
geophytic perennial, that can reach up to a meter in height with their flower-stems (normally 80 cm).
It has a small number of leaves that are long, slender (3-4mm wide), cylindrical, erect, leathery-surfaced quills. The rosette of leaves is basally enclosed in a grey, papery sheath that has distinctive horizontal bars around it.
The rose-scented, star-shaped flowers are white (rarely pink), and appear between September and October (southern hemisphere). Each petal with a dark midline (keel). Like most species of ''
Drimia
''Drimia'' is a genus of flowering plants. In the APG IV classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae (formerly the family Hyacinthaceae). When broadly circumscribed, the genus includes a number of othe ...
'', it has a distinctively spurred bract, at the base of each flower's
pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
.
This species has a distinctive horizontally-collared sheath, around the base of its rosette. This grey sheath can be used to identify it from its closest relatives.
Distribution
It occurs in rocky, loamy soils of clay or derived from granite, in the south-west of
South Africa.
It is common in the
Overberg,
Robertson Karoo and West Coast regions of the
Western Cape Province. Although its centre of distribution is in that Province, outlying populations are found as far east as Port Elizabeth, and northwards into the Namaqualand.
In the south-western cape it co-occurs with its smaller relative, ''
Drimia filifolia
''Drimia'' is a genus of flowering plants. In the APG IV system, APG IV classification system, it is placed in the family (biology), family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae (formerly the family Hyacinthaceae). When broadly Circumscription (tax ...
'', which has much thinner (c.1mm) leaves.
References
Scilloideae
Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces
Renosterveld
{{Asparagaceae-stub