The Cape is well known for its wealth of beautiful bulbs. If you go walking on Lion’s Head above Cape Town in early summer one of the most striking sights is Aristea. With its tall spikes of flowers, Aristea belongs to the iris family, Iridaceae. It grows wild along the lower mountain slopes of the southwestern Cape. The plants form thick clumps of long strap-shaped evergreen leaves, which stand upright to 1,5 meters. From October the flowering stems appear tall and strong above the leaves, often 8 or more stems grow from each clump. The flowers are formed along the top part of the stem, tightly arranged on little branches forming small bunches of buds. There are a few hundred flowers along each stem. The 6 bright petals of each flower open wide, creating a flat saucer of about 25mm across with the 3 yellow anthers and sword-shaped stigma in the centre. The flowers are pollinated by pollen – collecting bees that are active early in the day. The old flowering stems remain upright for months after flowering and are quite attractive, turning a rich brown colour. Underground, Aristea has a rhizome from which the plants often resprout after fire.

Aristea compressa, synonymously known as Aristea gerrardii, is a South African indigenous species found in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. This species is distributed mainly along the eastern coast of South Africa from Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape to Kosi Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, extending to Pebane in coastal northern Mozambique, and also inland at Mbabane in Eswatini. It occurs mainly on coastal flats, often in marshy habitats and locally inland in areas with sandstone or quartzite substrates. Growing from 30cm to 45cm tall it flowers on and off throughout the year with a peak in spring.