Cape Tulip

One-leaf Cape Tulip (Moraea flaccida) is a perennial herb with annual leaves and flowers to 60 cm high, developing from an underground bulb (corm) 1 to 4 cm in diameter, which is white in colour but covered in a brown fibrous tunic. Each plant has only one leaf which is flat, folded and ribbed, 1-2 cm wide and up to 1 m long (longer than the flowering stalk). The leaves are attached to the stem above ground level and often droop or trail on the ground. Flowers are borne on an erect, somewhat zig-zagged stem and are 3-5 cm in diameter. The six petals can vary from salmon-pink through orange to yellow in colour. Each petal is 2.5 to 4 cm long. The fruit is a narrow, cylindrical, three-valved capsule up to 5.5 cm long which starts green and turns brown when mature, splitting from the apex to release the seeds. The brown seeds are irregular in shape and 1 to 2 mm long. Each capsule may contain up to 150 seeds.