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Babiana petiolata is a perennial plant species of 8–14 cm (3.1–5.5 in) high assigned to the Iridaceae-family. It is endemic to the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Desciption

Babiana petiolata is a perennial of 8–14 cm (3.1–5.5 in) high including its leaves, that emerges each growing season from an underground corm. The hairless stem is entirely underground, without or with one or two sidebranches, without the collar of fibres around base that is characteristic for the vast majority of other Babiana species, reproducing vegetatively by producing small cormlets from the first node above the corm. The lance- to sword-shaped leaves are shallowly pleated, thinly covered in rough papillae to virtually smooth, often on a cylindrical false petiole of 5–40 mm (0.20–1.57 in) long. The leaves arch forward and are concave with its margins facing toward the ground and that are sometimes thickened. The two hairless bracts that subtend each flower are 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) long. The outer bract is keeled above and sparsely hairy on the keel and margins, with a blunt tip, and pale brown margins. The inner bract has sparsely hairy keels, is slightly shorter than outer, divided all the way to the base, and has broad membranous margins. The four to six violet mirror-symmetrical flowers are set in an inclined spike and have a faint iris-like scent. The lower tepals have pale yellow markings, reddish near the base. The perianth tube is obliquely funnel-shaped, about 11 mm (0.43 in) long, the lower cylinder-shaped part is about 7 mm (0.28 in) long. The tepals are unequal, with the dorsal tepal held slightly apart from the others, about 30 mm × 8 mm (1.18 in × 0.31 in), the upper lateral tepals smaller, the lower three tepals merged to the upper lateral tepals for about 5 mm (0.20 in) and to one another for about 3 mm (0.12 in), the lower median tepal narrowing below to a channelled claw. The stamens are crowded near the dorsal tepal and have curved filaments are about 12 mm (0.47 in) long and topped by about 6 mm long pale violet anthers that release cream-coloured pollen. The hairless egg-shaped ovary is about 4 mm (0.16 in) long. The style arches over the stamens, and divides into three branches of about {cvt|5|mm|in}} long opposite the tips of the anthers and widen at their tips. Flowers mostly occur in July.

Distribution and ecology: Western Cape: between Lambert’s Bay and Velddrif; flat sandy ground in strandveld along the coast (Map 31).

A late winter-flowering species, Babiana petiolata has until recently been overlooked, probably because little collecting was undertaken along the west coast of Western Cape early in the season. When in fruit, plants are inconspicuous, but we have established that the species is relatively common along the narrow band of strandveld that extends from Velddrif northward to Lambert’s Bay.

Description

Babiana rubella is a perennial plant of 10–12 cm (3.9–4.7 in) high, that emerges from a deep-seated corm of up to 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter. The base of the stem has a well-developed fibrous collar that extends above the ground. The infloresce is a suberect to inclined simple spike or having one branch, that is covered by leaf sheaths and densely long-hairy where it is exposed. The broadly lance-shaped to ovate leaves are held obliquely or almost at a right angles to the leaf sheaths, slightly pleated, densely set with long hairs of up to 4 mm (0.16 in) long on the veins and margins. The variably hairy leaf sheaths are short, broad and overlapping. The 2 bracts that are subtending the flowers are 1½-2½ cm long, densely hairy, green with the tips drying to rusty brown, the inner about as long as the outer, forked only at the tip or as far at midlength, or transparent along the upper mid-line.

Flowers (2)3-6 per spike, bilabiate, pale to deep pinkish purple, lower lateral tepals yellow with pink tips, lightly rose-scented; perianth tube 12-15 mm long, ± half as long as tepals; dorsal tepal 28-30 x ± 8-9 mm, lower tepals joined to upper laterals for ± 5 mm and to one another for ± 3 mm, upper laterals ± 24 mm long, lower tepals 23-25 mm long, crisped along lower margins. Stamens unilateral; filaments arched, ± 14 mm long; anthers ± 4.5 mm long, pale bluish; pollen white. Ovary smooth, ± 3 mm long; style arching over stamens. Capsules and seeds unknown. Flowering time : August to early September. to short, broad imbricate leaf sheaths,