ruthbancroftgarden:

Lachenalia punctata

Lachenalia is a genus in the Hyacinth Family (or, in a recent re-classification, in the subfamily Scilloideae of the Asparagus Family). These are bulbs from the western part of South Africa (with some spill-over into adjacent Namibia) adapted to winter rainfall and dry summers. They begin to grow with the arrival of rains in the fall and continue through the winter, eventually going dormant as things dry out in summer. Lachenalia punctata has long been known as Lachenalia rubida, and is usually grown under this name, but recent research shows that the name “punctata” applies to the same species, and was actually published a few years earlier, so it has priority. The name “punctata” means spotted, and refers to the speckling on the flowers, which can be seen in the close-up photo. It has longer flowers than most other species in the genus, adapted to pollination by sunbirds rather than by insects.

-Brian