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 sobolifera subsp. sobolifera is a rare, range-restricted South African endemic species found in the Northern Cape and Western Cape ranging from Klein Roggeveld between Sutherland and Matjiesfontein. It grows in well-drained, rocky loam or clay soils in succulent shrubland. From winter to spring it produces white to purple flowers.