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 campanulata, commonly known as Red Corn-Lily in English and Rooikalossie in Afrikaans and synonymously known as Gladiolus coccineus, Ixia anemonaeflora, Ixia aristata, Ixia coccinea, Ixia concolor, Ixia crateroides, Ixia leucantha var. aristate and Ixia speciosa, is a critically endangered South African endemic species found in the Western Cape province’s Breede River Valley between Tulbagh and Worcester growing on sandy alluvial flats and lower slopes amongst fynbos. It flowers from October to November. Plants grow from 10 to 35 cm high with linear leaves and mostly deep red, sometimes white, flowers.