The genus Ixia consists of a number of cormous plants native to South Africa from the Iridaceae family and Ixioideae subfamily. Some of them are known as the corn lily. Some distinctive traits include: sword-like leaves, and long wiry stems with star-shaped flowers. It usually prefers well-drained soil. They have a specific but not very intense fragrance of vegetables. That is why it is often visited by many insects such as bees.

Ixia alata, commonly known as Wing Kalossie, is a South African endemic species found in the Northern Cape’s Roggeveld Escarpment south of Calvinia growing on deeper clay and sandy soils among rocky outcrops on gentle slopes. From late winter to early spring it bears gorgeous flowers in shades of pink.