''Xenoscapa fistulosa'' is a species of plant that belongs to the

Iridaceae Iridaceae () is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the Iris (plant), irises. It has a nearly global distribution, with 69 accepted genera with a total of about 2500 species. It includes a number of economically importan ...

family. It is one of only three species belonging to the '' Xenoscapa'' genus, alongside ''

Xenoscapa grandiflora ''Xenoscapa'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the family Iridaceae. It consists of only three species distributed in Africa, and is closely related to the genera ''Freesia''.Peter Goldblatt and John C. Manning. 1995Phy ...

'' and ''

Xenoscapa uliginosa ''Xenoscapa'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the family Iridaceae. It consists of only three species distributed in Africa, and is closely related to the genera ''Freesia''.Peter Goldblatt and John C. Manning. 1995Phy ...

''. It was classified as a

least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

in 2005. Its

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

and grow flat on the ground, while its

flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

grow directly upwards. Its flowers are small and tubular, with its stem generally growing anywhere from three to twenty centimeters in length. They normally have white

petals Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''coroll ...

, but it is possible for them to be a pale pink color. Their fragrance is described as "spicy-sweet". ''Xenoscapa fistulosa'' tends to grow in clay and granite-based

soils Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by restri ...

, in environments that are cool, moist, and shaded. It can be found as far north as the southern tip of

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, and as far south as the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula () of South Africa is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good ...

. Its populations are clustered near South Africa's

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast.

References

Endemic flora of South Africa Endemic flora of Namibia Iridaceae {{Iridaceae-stub