Lachenalia aloides

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|taxon = Lachenalia aloides

|image = Lachenalia tricolor var. luteola.jpg

|image_caption = L. aloides var. aloides (Curtis's Botanical Magazine)

|authority = (L.f.) Engl.{{Citation |contribution=Lachenalia aloides|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=280351 |accessdate=2012-12-21}}

}}

Lachenalia aloides (opal flower) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to the Western Cape of South Africa. It is a bulbous perennial growing to {{convert|15|-|28|cm|0|abbr=on}} tall by {{convert|5|cm|0|abbr=on}} broad, with strap-shaped spotted leaves and fleshy stems bearing pendent tubular yellow flowers, red at the tips, in winter and spring.{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=1405332964|pages=1136}} The Latin aloides literally means "aloe-like";{{cite book|last=Harrison|first=Lorraine|title=RHS Latin for gardeners|year=2012|publisher=Mitchell Beazley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=9781845337315|pages=224}} though L. aloides, despite its similarity, does not belong to the same family of plants as aloes.

Numerous cultivars have been bred for garden use. They require a sheltered, frost-free position or under glass. The following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:

• L. aloides var. aurea{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - Lachenalia aloides var. aurea|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=1106|publisher=Royal Horticultural Society|accessdate=20 May 2013}}
• L. aloides var. quadricolor{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - Lachenalia aloides var. quadricolor|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=2500|publisher=Royal Horticultural Society|accessdate=20 May 2013}}