Geissorhiza is a large genus of around 84 perennial species, of small to medium corm bearing plants in the Iridaceae family found in the winter rainfall region of the south and west coasts of southern Africa. Many of them make very handsome container plants and benefit from extra water during growth. The name Geissorhiza is derived from the Greek words geisson and rhiza which mean tile and root respectively. This is in reference to a tunic which covers the corms like a roof tile. The bulb-like structure is used as a storage organ during the dormant period. It is closely related to the genus Hesperantha, the main difference being that most Hesperantha are night bloomers.

Geissorhiza lapidosa is a critically rare South African endemic species found in the Western Cape province where it is restricted to Goudini Sneeukop in the Du Toit’s Kloof Mountains. It occurs along a narrow band of sandstone pavement at the edge of cliffs in moist seeps draining from a shale sponge overlying the sandstone. It has a very restricted habitat that is less than 4 meters wide, which is unusual for Geissorhiza. The two known colonies are about 800 m apart in an area regularly covered by snow in winter and early spring.