Boophone disticha, a perennial geophyte, rarely growing taller than 25 cm, occurs in both winter and summer rainfall regions of South Africa. The two somewhat distinct forms, adapted to growing seasons coinciding with the rainfall patterns of their natural habitats, have size and growth differences.

The winter region form, found from Bredasdorp eastwards, is smaller than the summer rainfall one. Flowering for some of these plants is limited to spring, others will flower from spring to summer, even early autumn. The distichous leaves, i.e. growing in two opposing ranks in the same plain or fan-shape, are grey, strap-shaped and varying in the waviness of their margins.

The leaves of B. disticha usually appear after bloom-time, but this Gauteng plant is producing leaves while the inflorescence is still developing. The inflorescence is busy spreading individual flowers from the initial erect clump into the dense, semi-spherical umbel it will be in its prime. The many (70 to 100) six-tepalled flowers in a typical inflorescence may be one of several shades of pink or pale red.

Note the broad, triangular bract at the base of the flowers, above the leaves; two such bracts initially covered the flowers in the bud phase.

The flower umbel reminds of Brunsvigia, the Amaryllidaceae family member of Boophone that mostly grows bigger, but fewer individual flowers than seen here (Duncan, 2010; Mustart, et al, 1997).