ASPARAGACEAE

 This oddball is native to South Africa. It's an atypical genus that has become very popular with hobbyists in recent years, and rightly so. Like other Eriospermum species, they are underground tubers that, during the growing season, send up a simple, complex leaf (or several later in life) to photosynthesize. This leaf, for example, is very hairy and unusually branched. Sometimes the tuber also sends out a long spike of flowers, which looks very special and feels like a reward, in my opinion.

 Full sun and water during the growing season when the substrate is almost dry. IMPORTANT: many Eriospermum species originate from regions with only winter rainfall, so they only grow in winter and don't receive moisture during the dry, hot summers they originally experienced. I also grow them as winter growers. So, I water from September through the winter (be careful not to overwater during the cold) until sometime in May. During the summer months, I stop watering and allow the leaves to wilt and the tuber to overwinter dormant.