Wachendorfia is a genus of 4 species in the Haemodoraceae family found in the winter rainfall area of South Africa. Some are evergreen and some deciduous. They have bright red rhizomes with papery tunics and yellow to orange flowers with pale to dark markings on the base of the upper tepals.

Wachendorfia thyrsiflora with its large golden flower spikes is very striking when in flower, and is a must for the marshy garden. It is a tall evergreen geophyte (perennial plant with underground buds). The rootstock is a branched, fleshy rhizome with clusters of thin adventitious roots at the nodes. The rhizome is a distinctive red colour, containing a red fluid rich in arylphenalenone pigments. The leaves are firm, hairless, entire and broadly sword shaped, with very distinctive longitudinally pleated leaf blades. The inflorescence is a dense cylindrical panicle of bright golden-yellow flowers on a tall sturdy stalk. Flowers are produced from spring until mid-summer (September – December). The leaves are from 0.6 to 1 m tall and the flower stalks can reach up to 2.5 m in height.