''Aristea cantharophila'' is a plant species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to a small region of

Western Cape Province The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabi ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, Southeast of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. Type locality is in the Hottentots Holland Mountains near Sir Lowry's Pass. The species is facing serious threats and has been slated for conservation efforts. ''Aristea cantharophila'' is a perennial herb up to 30 cm high, forming tussocks up to 12 cm in diameter. Leaves are mostly basal, very thin and sword-like, gladiolate (= folded so that one edge points toward the stem). Flowers are pale purple to white with a dark purple center.photo of isotype of ''Aristea cantharophila'' at Missouri Botanical Garden
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References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15557330 Iridaceae Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces Taxa named by Peter Goldblatt Taxa named by John Charles Manning