Ipomoea holubii is a caudiciform member of the morning glory family from a wide range of southern African countries, favoring drought-adapted grasslands where its narrow, needle-like leaves keep it inconspicuous for most of the year. It produces large deeply pigmented flowers throughout the growing season, typical if not exceptional for Convolvulaceae, to eagerly coax what few pollinators tolerate the harsh environment. In cultivation it can be appreciated more fully for its satisfyingly rotund caudex, which can be raised above the soil line with little stress to the plant. The contrast between the stumpy tuber and the compact bundles of grass-like leaves gives it the look of a human silhouette on a bad hair day, an impression quickly replaced when the blooms open in a startling pink-purple, vivid enough to be mistaken in the desert for a mirage.
