GETHYLLIS villosa (3 s)

Gethyllis villosa is a small bulbous plant that grows 3 to 15 cm high and has and strap-shaped loosely spiraled leaves with star-like white hairs. The flowers are white or pink and the style is bent to the side which is a characteristic of this species. G. villosa produces its flowers at the end of growing season (October to March in the wild), long after the leaves have died back at the end of spring. This condition is known as hysteranthy and is common in geophytes or bulbous plants that build up the carbohydrate reserves in their bulbs during winter. The leaves then wither and disappear at the beginning of summer before the plants once again produce inflorescences.