Drimia elata aka Drimia Elata

Drimia elata is a bulb plant that lives for years. It belongs to the Asparagaceae family. Its native range runs from South Sudan to southern Africa. Kew calls it a bulbous geophyte, a plant with a bulb below ground. It comes from tropical lands with a dry season. Useful Tropical Plants lists Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Angola within its range. The range also reaches south into South Africa. The RHS says it is not native to Britain or Ireland.

The plant has a round bulb beneath its season's growth. The bulb measures about 0.26 feet (0.08 metres) across. A flower stem grows before the leaves form a cluster. This stem can reach about 1.5 feet (0.45 metres) long. The leaves reach about 1 foot (0.30 metres) in length. Useful Tropical Plants gives an overall height of 1 foot (0.30 metres). These sizes refer to different parts of the plant. They do not show a clear range of garden sizes. The sources give no mature spread or time to reach full size.

In the wild, this plant grows in upland grassy savannah. These sites can burn, and it grows on rocky ground too. The broad climate has a dry season. This does not show how much water it needs in gardens. Useful Tropical Plants lists it as wild but gives no growing details. It names seed as a way to grow new plants. It gives no sowing method or time for seeds to sprout. The sources give no firm guide to light or soil needs. They do not say how much cold it can bear.

People sometimes take bulbs from the wild for local medicine. Reported uses of the juice include making more urine flow. People have also used it to cause vomiting and help clear mucus. These uses do not prove that it is a safe treatment. The plant also yields a dye, but the source gives no more details. It lists no use as food and reports no known hazards. This does not prove safety for people or pets.

The account states that flowers come before the leaves. It gives no flower colour, bloom months or fruit details. It does not name pollinators, the animals that move pollen. Nor does it name pests or diseases. Much about how it grows in gardens thus stays unclear. Its bulb form and known local uses are its recorded points of value. The sources give no basis for a set role in the landscape.