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Background: Recent fieldwork in Namaqualand, Northern Cape Province, South Africa,indicated the existence of an undescribed member of Moraea subgenus (subg.) Umbellatae Goldblatt & J.C.Manning, a small, early branching clade of the genus. Objectives: To describe the new species of Moraea subg. Umbellatae. Method: Recent collections were compared with existing material and published literature. Results: Moraea orthrosantha is described as a new species, differing from Moraea margaretae inthe well-developed nodes between the cauline leaves. Two earlier collections of the species weremisidentified as M. margaretae. Conclusion: The new species increases our understanding of the diversity of Moraea in southernAfrica and assists in conservation assessments of both M. margaretae and M. orthrosantha.