''Moraea aristata'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Iridaceae Iridaceae is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c. 2244 species worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016). It include ...

. It is referred to by the common names blue-eyed uintjie or Blouooguintjie in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

and is a critically endangered species of plant in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Moraea ''Moraea'', the Cape tulips, is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1758. The group is widespread across Africa, the Mediterranean, and central and southwestern Asia. The genus name is a tribute to the English ...

'', that is endemic to the city of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and is now restricted to the grounds of the

Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

in the Cape Town suburb of

. ''Moraea aristata'' is a winter-flowering bulb (

geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

) that produces large and striking

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s. The petals are white, but each has a large spot of iridescent blue at its base. This plant naturally only occurs in

Peninsula Shale Renosterveld Peninsula Shale Renosterveld (PSR) is a unique vegetation type that is found only on the slopes of Signal Hill and Devil's Peak in Cape Town, South Africa. It is critically endangered and exists nowhere else. Habitat This unique type of Renos ...

vegetation in northern Cape Town. Due to the growth of the city, its habitat now mostly lies under

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

. Consequently, it is critically endangered. Until recently, it only naturally survived in the grounds of the

South African Astronomical Observatory South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's funct ...

in the suburb of

near the foot of Devil's Peak. This tiny, isolated population is too small to be sustainable in the long term. In the wild, its natural pollinators are the Monkey beetles but these are also on the decline in the city of Cape Town. In 2017 and 2018 it was reintroduced to the

Rondebosch Common Rondebosch Common is an open common of about in Rondebosch, Cape Town in South Africa. A common is defined as "A piece of open land for public use, esp. in a village or town." It contains one of the few surviving pockets of the critically endang ...

, providing new hope for its survival in the wild. In spite of its extraordinary rarity in the wild, it is easy to cultivate in sunny gardens with sandy or clay soils. File:The Botanical Magazine, Plate 168 (Volume 5, 1792).png File:Moraea aristata.jpg, Plants photographed in the grounds of the

File:Moraea aristata1 (11).jpg, Detail of inflorescence

References

Further reading