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 calendulacea, commonly known as Sandveld Kalossie and synonymously known as Ixia maculata var. intermedia, is a South African endemic species found in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces on the West Coast coastal plain between the Groenrivier Mouth and Langebaan, and inland as far as Porterville and the Olifants River Valley. One disjunct location is recorded from the Cape Flats. It grows in deep, well-drained sandy soils amongst fynbos, reaching 25 cm high. This showy species with orange or orange-red flowers with a dark center during spring is threatened by development in the areas where it grows. Flowers close somewhat when the temperature drops.