Ornithogalum

Distribution:

Africa: South Africa: Northern Cape: Western Cape:

Ornithogalum xanthochlorum is a robust geophyte that can grow up to 60 cm tall when in flower. The greenish-white flowers appear in August and continue to flower through September. This species grows in well drained flats from Namaqualand to the Tanqua Karoo.

Flowering in spring in a loose sandy shale.	The general landscape of the Tanqua Karoo where Ornithogalum xanthochlorum is found is one of the hottest places in South Africa during summer. Occasional farm houses pop up here and there. The area is farmed mainly with sheep and goats. In years of good rainfall it can be quite profitable. Alas so often there is extreme drought in this desolate area. In many cases farming remains a breadline surviving industry here. There were a few boom years around 2004 during the Hoodia gordonii craze (one plant seen in the foreground) when many farmers obtained Hoodia harvesting licenses.	A plant with seedpods - prosperous in this strange dark grey shale where few other plants feel welcome.

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