Babiana arenicola Goldblatt & J.C.Manning

Plants 60-140 mm high, including leaves. Stem reaching 20-40 mm above ground level, lightly hairy, enclosed below by collar of dark brown fibres. Leaves narrowly sword-shaped to linear, shortly exceeding stem, mostly 3-6 mm wide, firm to rigid, deeply pleated and veins thickened, sparsely short-hairy, mainly on veins. Spike erect, 2-to 6-flowered; bracts green with dry rust-brown tips, ± smooth above, shortly to silky hairy below, outer 22-30(-45) mm long, inner ± 2/3 as long, shortly attenuate, divided to base. Flowers zygomorphic, blue with white markings on lower lateral tepals edged toward throat in dark blue or red, sweetly scented; perianth tube straight, cylindric below, widening gradually in upper 1/3, ± 30 mm long; tepals subequal, dorsal ± 32 x 12 mm, upper laterals ± 32 x 10 mm, lower tepals 28-30 x 10 mm. Stamens unilateral; filaments suberect, unilateral, ± 15 mm long, exserted ± 8 mm from mouth of tube; anthers linear, 6-7 mm long, yellow; pollen white. Ovary sparsely to densely shortly hairy; style dividing ± 2 mm below base of anthers, branches 5-6 mm long, slender, hardly expanded at tips.