''Ledebouria ovalifolia'' is a species of

bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

ous 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 ...

, native to the

Cape Provinces The Cape Provinces of South Africa is a biogeographical area used in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It is part of the WGSRPD region 27 Southern Africa. The area has the code "CPP". It includes the Sout ...

of South Africa.

Description

The leaves of ''Ledebouria ovalifolia'' have obtuse tips, and the upper leaf surface has small lines of papillae. The leaves are pressed close against the ground (or occasionally partially spreading) and they are partly emerged when the flowers appear. The flowers are born laxly, usually on a solitary

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

. The flowers are purple-to-white, with violet anthers. The

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

has 3 lobes. Unlike some other ''Ledebouria'' species, both the leaves and the live bulb scales of ''L. ovalifolia'' do not have any threads when torn.

References

ovalifolia Flora of South Africa {{Asparagaceae-stub