Massonia mimetica

A low-growing, deciduous, South African, perennial bulbous plant, which grows in winter and is dormant in summer. It produces two, fleshy, oval to oblong-shaped, mid-brown leaves, that mimic the colour of the soil in their natural habitat, helping the plant to avoid being eaten by herbivores. The leaves are oval to almost circular in shape, up to 10cm in length and 9cm in width, which lie flat over the soil surface. Their upper surfaces of the leaves are covered in darker, wart-like bumps. A cluster of white flowers with reflexed petals and protruding, thick, white stamens, which are red at their base and resemble the tentacles of a sea anemone, appear at ground level between the leaves, from November to December