A perennial of the Iridaceae family, Dierama pulcherrimum is native to South Africa and Zimbabwe, where it grows in high-altitude grasslands, grassy slopes, and the banks of mountain streams, generally between 1,500 and 2,500 meters.
It forms long clumps of narrow, ribbon-like, evergreen leaves, with a glaucous green color, arched and drooping, reminiscent of the foliage of a slender grass. The flowering stems, thin and very flexible, can reach 150 to 180 cm in height; they gracefully bend under the weight of the flowers, which has earned the plant its common English name of wand flower, or sometimes angel's fishing rod.
The flowers, dark pink to purple hanging bells, are arranged in drooping spikes along the arched stems. In its natural habitat, flowering extends from November to January; in cultivation under our latitudes, it occurs from June to August.
It requires fresh to moist soil, in full exposure, and readily accommodates the immediate proximity of a body of water. It tolerates moderate frosts. Once established, it dislikes being disturbed; dividing the clumps is discouraged unless absolutely necessary.