''Eriospermum bayeri'' is a species of geophytic plant of the genus ''

Eriospermum ''Eriospermum'' is a genus of tuberous flowering plants. It contains about 80-100 species, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Name The name "Eriospermum" is from the Greek ''erion'' for "wool" and ''sperma'' for "seed". In the APG III classificati ...

'', indigenous to the

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 ...

Description

This species has a single, erect, slender, lanceolate-attenuate, petiolate leaf (100mm x 25mm), which has slightly wavy margins. The leaf appears from April to October (southern hemisphere). The tuber is irregular or slightly pear-shaped. The flowers appear after the leaf is already dry, from March until May, on a thin, slender raceme.

Related species

This is one of several species that have slender, erect, lanceolate or linear leaves, including ''

Eriospermum exile ''Eriospermum'' is a genus of tuberous flowering plants. It contains about 80-100 species, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Name The name "Eriospermum" is from the Greek ''erion'' for "wool" and ''sperma'' for "seed". In the APG III classificati ...

'', '' Eriospermum graminifolium'' and ''

Eriospermum lanceifolium ''Eriospermum'' is a genus of tuberous flowering plants. It contains about 80-100 species, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Name The name "Eriospermum" is from the Greek ''erion'' for "wool" and ''sperma'' for "seed". In the APG III classificati ...

''. ''

'' also has an erect, lanceolate leaf, but its leaf is larger (160mm long; 48mm wide) than that of ''E.bayeri'' (100mm long; 25mm wide), and its leaf has a margin that is more strongly undulate, and often hairy. The leaf of ''

'' is also a blue-green colour and has a leathery texture. Vegetatively it resembles '' Eriospermum crispum'', a species known only from Calitzdorp, but the lamina of the latter species is more firm and crisped.

Distribution and habitat

''Eriospermum bayeri'' is indigenous to the south western Cape, in the

Robertson Karoo Robertson Karoo is a semi-arid vegetation type, restricted to sections of the Breede River Valley, Western Cape Province, South Africa. It is a subtype of Karoo, Succulent Karoo (geographically an extension of the "Little Karoo") and is characteri ...

, from Worcester eastwards into the western

Little Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe Khoemana (also known as !Orakobab or Korana) word is a semidesert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent i ...

and northwards into the Tanqua Karoo. It is usually found on low, flat but rocky terrain, usually on shale, often in shale

renosterveld Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation types of the Cape Floristic Region (Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa, in southernmost Africa. It is an ecoregion ...

vegetation.Distribution map
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References

bayeri Renosterveld {{Asparagaceae-stub