Afrosolen is a genus of flowering plants in the Iridaceae family, native to regions from Nigeria and Eritrea to Southern Africa. The genus name is derived from the Greek word “solen,” meaning pipe, referring to the tubular perianth characteristic of this widespread African genus. Afrosolen includes 15 species, all found in summer rainfall areas of tropical and eastern Southern Africa. In 2015, the genus Lapeirousia was split into four separate genera. Lapeirousia, with 27 species, was retained, while two new genera were described: Schizorhiza, which contains one species from the Southwestern Cape of South Africa, and Codonorhiza, which consists of seven species from the same region.

Afrosolen schimperi, also known by several synonyms such as Tritonia schimperi, Acidanthera unicolor, Lapeirousia schimperi, Acidanthera schimperi, and Psilosiphon schimperi, is a large species that grows between 30 and 80 cm in height. It thrives in damp areas across a broad range in Africa, from Ethiopia in the north, south to Zimbabwe, and west to Angola. The flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, with long tubes (10 to 14 cm), typically white to cream in colour, and occasionally purple. They bloom late in the afternoon, lasting overnight, and fade the following day. The corms of the plant are edible. Flowering periods vary depending on location: in central and southern tropical Africa, it occurs from mid to late summer (December to March), in northern regions of Africa, it blooms from September to October, and in Kenya to Ethiopia, it flowers between April and June.