S. leipoldtii (L.Bolus) Snijman

Plants up to 150 mm high; bulb whitish inside. Leaves 2(3), dry at flowering, broadly oval to strap-shaped, 17 - 35 mm wide, smooth with a long, soft, dense fringe. Flowers 8 - 15, on long spreading pedicels, star-shaped, 10 - 20 mm across, white with green or pink midribs, scentless, stamens slightly shorter than the tepals, the filaments bulbous at the base, attached to the swollen style base, style evenly enlarged in the basal third. Flowering time: March to April. Sandstone rock ledges in loamy soils. Lambert's Bay to Olifants River Valley, Western Cape.

S. unguiculata (W.F.Barker) Snijman

Plants up to 300 mm high; bulb whitish inside. Leaves 2(3), usually dry at flowering, sub-erect to recurved, elliptic to lanceolate, (15 - )30 - 600 mm wide, abruptly narrowed at the base, light green, thin-textured, the margins sometimes undulate. Flowers 7 - 24, spreading on long pedicels, shallowly cup-shaped, 15 - 20 mm across, glistening white with red midribs, scented of spice, clawed at the base forming conspicuous windows between adjacent tepals, the edges more or less folded towards the apex, stamens equaling the tepals, slightly bulbous at the base, attached to the style base, style expanding evenly to a broad base. Flowering time: May. Loamy and stony soils. Botterkloof Valley, Northern Cape.

S. truncata Jacq.

S. aquatica (L.f.) Fourc.: plants 155-400 mm tall; corm smooth or rarely fibrous above. Leaves 2-5, erect, hollow, exceeding the inflorescence, linear, and ± 3 mm wide. Flowers 2-7 per scape; tepals 5-17(-35) mm long, white with green backs, often scented; bracts 2 or more, green, clasping the pedicels towards the base. Flowering June to October. In seasonal pools and streams from Namaqualand to Cape Peninsula and Swellendam.

S. capensis (L.) Garside: plants 100-350 mm tall; corm with a cap of short, fine bristles. Leaves 2-8, recurved, 3-15 mm wide, V-shaped in cross-section, distinctly keeled, margin often thickened, usually bearing minute recurved teeth. Flower 1 per scape; tepals 15-35 mm long, white, cream, yellow to orange, rarely pink, unspotted or with an iridescent or non-iridescent dark centre, backs greenish, usually lined with red; bract 1, long, green, tightly sheathing the pedicel. Flowering July to October. On seasonally wet flats from Clanwilliam to Cape Peninsula, Oudtshoorn, and western Karoo.

S. monophylla (Schltr.) Garside: small plants 20-100 mm tall; corm covered with fine, branched fibres. Leaf 1(-2), spreading, 1.5-2.0 mm wide, firm, shallowly channelled. Flower 1, on a subterranean scape; tepals 10-35 mm long, yellow with pale green backs, much longer than the stamens and style; bract 1, lance-shaped, green to whitish, clasping the pedicel towards base. Flowering December to March, especially after fire. On sandstone slopes from Kogelberg to Elim.