Ixia bifolia Goldblatt & J.C.Manning

Plants mostly 160-300 mm high, stem unbranched, with short scale ± 1 mm long, inserted 12-30 mm below base of spike, sheathed basally by dry, brown cataphylls. Corm 10-12 mm diam., tunics of fine, soft to firm fibres extending upward as collar, bearing cormlets at base. Leaves 2, lower 1 with long sheath, ± lanceolate, blade 60-80 x (3-)5-8 mm, reaching up to middle of stem, leathery-succulent, main vein not raised when alive (visible as a pale line when held to light), slightly raised when dry, margins thickened, hyaline, transparent when alive, when dry raised above mesophyll and yellow, upper leaf largely sheathing, sometimes with short free blade similar to basal but 2-3 mm wide. Spike mostly 4-7-flowered, ± straight; bracts translucent pink with purple veins, 5-6 mm long, outer with 3 main veins terminating in acute teeth and 1 or 2 secondary veins along margins, inner 2-veined and acutely 2-toothed. Flowers rotate, upright, deep pink, darker toward tepal bases, rose-scented; perianth tube filiform, 5-6 mm long; tepals obovate, 12-14 x 5-7 mm. Stamens symmetrically arranged; filaments filiform, inserted at mouth of narrow part of tube, ± 1.5 mm long, deep pink (drying purple); anthers suborbicular, 2.0-2.5 mm long, yellow, thecae obtuse basally, dehiscing completely or almost so by narrow slits. Style dividing at base of filaments, style branches 3.8-4.0 mm long, deep pink (drying purple), ± straight, extending outward below anthers, expanded and bilobed at tips. Capsules globose, ± 4 mm diam. Flowering time: mostly late Aug. to mid-Nov. but Dec. and early Jan. in the Caledon Swartberg.