Wurmbea is a genus is the Colchicaceae family from sub-saharan Africa and Australia. The rootstock is a corm and flowers are star or trumpet-shaped.

Wurmbea stricta is a deciduous, winter-growing geophyte reaching up to 0.6 m high. The subterranean storage organ is a deep-seated, irregularly shaped corm surrounded by dark brown membranous outer tunics, and produces three narrow, very straight, erect or suberect, dark green leaves that resemble knitting needles. Its striking star-shaped flowers are produced alternately along an elongated spike, the tepals varying in colour from pure white to pale pink. Each tepal has a small claw at the base and two prominent, deep pink glands that produce nectar. Vast quantities of seed are produced in attractive erect, narrowly egg-shaped capsules. Wurmbea stricta, together with Wurmbea punctata, differ from most other wurmbea species by having their petals completely separate rather than being joined at the base into a short or long tube. Wurmbea punctata is a smaller plant with white to deep pink flowers and lance-shaped leaves, occurring on stony hillsides and seeps in the Western Cape.